I am not a big Allcoast follower but saw this recent post regarding White Seabass regulations. This is a very good post with reply from the DFG regarding some of the often confusing issues that arise while fishing Seabass on a 1 or 3 fish limit.

http://64.232.140.12/dcforum/dcpages/private/9573.html#

Things to keep in mind for everyone.

yeah, there's been a lot of talk about that issue on allcoast lately, and a lot of confusion. It seems even DFG isn't very clear on it.
-Brian

One thing is for sure. If you get your seabass, it is wrong to keep fishing, gaff another one, and call in another boat to hand it off to. I saw this repeated several times last week at MDR- guys were already limited out for the boat, then calling in other boats to hand off the stuck seabass. Just take your fish, and rack your rod. I can see if you have two or three guys on the boat fishing until you limit out (technically illegal), but don't keep fishing them and pass them off to other boats. This is still a fragile fishery, as wide open as it has been the last two years. Everyone needs to help out to keep this fishery alive for the future. Besides, one nice seabass can fill your freezer quite nicely. Hopefully I'll have some nice chicken in the freezer Sunday, I need some tuna!!!!

Yeah. Some of the things that were derived on allcoast from this whole thing was that it's unlawful and unethical to hook and hand fish once you have your limit. If you've caught your one seabass (or 3 depending on time of year...), you're done. Period. You can either fish for halibut, move the boat or rack your rod. If you happen to incidentally catch another seabass (BTW it's also illegal to continue to target seabass once you have your limit) you are required to release it right away with minimal harm to the fish. You can change your technique to target a different species but you can't continue flylining a live squid if you know you're going to catch another seabass. I'll admit I've been guilty of some of these acts, and it's hard not to, but it's not cool. You CAN catch and release BEFORE you have your limit of seabass, so for example you could catch and release a bunch of barely legal fish in the hope that you'd catch a 50#er, but you can't keep culling fish until you get that 50#er. It's also believed that seabass caught in deeper than 40 feet are often mortally wounded from the pressure change and have a very low survival rate for catch and release. So, it's considered the ethical thing to do, when fishing in deeper than 40' to keep all legal seabass you catch, and if you're catching shorts, move. Once you catch your limit out of deeper than 40', rack your rod. It really is hard to sit down during a wide open bite, but you (we) gotta do it.
-Brian