LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – State officials said Tuesday that the Clear Lake hitch, now a candidate species under the California Endangered Species act, has been afforded new protections as the review process moves forward.

The California Fish and Game Commission approved the candidacy for the Clear Lake hitch, Lavinia exilicauda chi, a native Clear Lake fish, last month, as Lake County News has reported.

The commission received a petition to list the Clear Lake hitch as a threatened species under the California Endangered Species Act – or CESA – in September 2012.

On March 6, the commission considered the petition, the petition evaluation report, a recommendation prepared by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and comments received at a publicly noticed meeting.

The commission concluded that the petition included sufficient scientific information to indicate that listing the species as threatened or endangered under CESA may be warranted and designated Clear Lake hitch as a candidate species pursuant to Fish and Game Code. The commission published notice of its action on March 22.

CESA prohibits the take of listed or candidate species, even if that take is incidental to otherwise lawful activity, unless authorized by permit.

As defined in state law, take means “hunt, pursue, catch, capture, or kill or attempt to hunt, pursue, catch, capture, or kill.” Anyone who takes Clear Lake hitch without a permit may be cited for violations of CESA and may be subject to criminal prosecution.

With the commission’s decision to proceed with candidacy for Clear Lake hitch, section 2.11 of the 2013-2014 California Freshwater Sport Fishing Regulations is no longer valid. That regulation previously allowed take of hitch from Clear Lake and its tributaries by hand or handheld dip net.

Recreational angling for other species on Clear Lake is still allowed as are fishing contests, however, anglers must avoid Clear Lake hitch while fishing, Fish and Wildlife officials reported.

While targeted sport fishing or take of Clear Lake hitch is prohibited, the Fish and Game Code provides the Department of Fish and Wildlife the authority to permit incidental take and take associated with research activities. The department will consider exceptions on a case-by-case basis, and will only authorize take under permits issued pursuant to CESA.

Under CESA, permits may be issued relating to Clear Lake Hitch for scientific research, education or management purposes.

An incidental take permit may also be obtained for projects whose non-research activities may result in take. Information regarding CESA permitting is available on the Department of Fish and Wildlife Web site, www.dfg.ca.gov/habcon/cesa/ .

The Department of Fish and Wildlife will conduct an in-depth status review to provide the commission with information to aid in their decision on the hitch's listing status. The status review is scheduled to be completed by March 2014.

The agency's petition evaluation report for the Clear Lake Hitch can be found at https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=59298 .