Recreational fishing could one day return to Surf Beach near Vandenberg Space Force Base after the California Fish and Game Commissioners gave preliminary approval to a proposal that would allow anglers to fish along a portion of the coastline.
The decision marks a step forward in ongoing efforts to restore recreational fishing access to the beach, but state officials caution that it could still take several years before any changes take effect.
During meetings held October 13 through 16, commissioners considered two proposals aimed at changing fishing restrictions within the Vandenberg State Marine Reserve.
One proposal, Petition 2023-18MPA, sought to create a narrow State Marine Conservation Area along the entire length of the reserve, allowing recreational shore fishing for finfish using hooks and fishing lines.
Commissioners rejected that proposal but granted preliminary approval to a separate petition that would allow recreational fishing along a much smaller, half-mile stretch of Surf Beach.
The approved concept would create a small State Marine Conservation Area within the existing reserve, allowing anglers to catch finfish from shore using hook-and-line fishing methods. It could also allow limited collection of bait, although those details have yet to be determined.
Claire Waggoner, Marine Region Habitat Conservation Program Manager with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, explained that the Commission’s decision does not mean fishing can immediately resume.
“The granted petitions are not automatically effective,” Waggoner said.
Instead, the proposal must undergo an environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act, followed by the state’s formal rulemaking process, which includes public notice, discussion and an adoption hearing.
Any changes would only become effective after the Commission formally adopts amendments to the state’s marine protected area regulations.
“The process may take a few years until it would be legal to fish at Surf Beach,” Waggoner said.
In the meantime, recreational fishing at Surf Beach remains prohibited, and anyone caught fishing there could face enforcement action.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife will continue working through the proposal alongside other recommendations stemming from its review of the state’s marine protected area network.
For now, the commission’s decision signals a possible change in the future, but anglers hoping to cast their lines at Surf Beach will have to wait until the state completes its review and formally changes the regulations.
