October 15, 2025 — Gavin Newsom, the governor of the U.S. state of California, has signed a bill into law that ends the use of gillnets in state waters.
Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1056 into law on 13 October, phasing out the use of drift gillnets in California’s waters. The bill – sponsored by NGOs Oceana and the Resource Renewal Institute – limits the ability of remaining fishers with gillnet permits to transfer them, phasing out the fishery as they retire.