Deep-sea charter company got caught fishing in closed waters off SLO County
A Morro Bay deep-sea charter fishing company has settled a lawsuit for more than $12,000 after an investigation revealed the vessel was casting lines in restricted sections of the ocean and not accurately reporting its passengers’ catch, the District Attorney’s Office said.
Black Pearl Sportfishing has built a business out of taking “novice and experienced anglers” on deep-sea fishing trips in the ocean waters off of San Luis Obispo County’s coast, according to its website.
On Monday, the company and its commercial sportfishing operator Brian Walker were fined $10,600 in civil penalties for violating state fishing laws, according to a news release from the District Attorney’s Office. They also agreed to pay another $2,000 to the county’s Fish and Game Fund, which goes toward programs that benefit fish and wild animals in the area.
The sanctions date back to July 12, 2025, when officers on patrol with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife spotted a boat on radar that they suspected had drifted into an off-limits fishing area near Piedras Blancas, north of San Simeon.
In thick fog, two officers were dispatched onto a small patrol boat to investigate, the release said. They located the Black Pearl and saw “20 customers fishing in waters seasonally prohibited to fishing.”
The officers told all passengers to reel in lines and stop fishing. After inspecting fishing licenses, they told the Black Pearl crew that they would be cited for fishing in a closed zone, according to the complaint.
Afterward, Fish and Wildlife audited the company’s fishing logs and discovered the Black Pearl crew was not properly recording the rockfish species that the boat’s passengers were catching, according to the release.
The SLO County District Attorney’s Office contacted Black Pearl Sportfishing about the findings, and the company “immediately took steps to come into compliance with reporting requirements,” the release said.
The company also replaced the boat’s computer hardware systems and trained crew member on how to use it.
Along with paying $12,600 in penalties, Black Pearl Sportfishing was also prohibited from exceeding daily fish catch limits, determined by state law, and was required to report the exact type of rockfish that every customer catches, according to the release.
“Civil enforcement actions like this are essential to protect our precious marine resources and to make sure that everyone who does business on our coast plays by the same rules,” SLO County District Attorney Dan Dow said in the release. “By holding violators accountable, we safeguard the long‑term sustainability of our coastal waters and ensure a fair marketplace for the many law‑abiding commercial fishermen who depend on them.”
The Department of Fish and Wildlife investigated the civil case, and Deputy District Attorney Kenneth Jorgensen, who’s assigned to the DA’s Office’s Consumer and Environmental Protection Unit, was the prosecutor, according to the release.
