Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Sooo happy I found this group. I am currently in the planning stages of my system and greenhouse. Hardest part so far is finding fish to eat that can be shipped to Cali, heard good things about hybrid bass. You guys have any suggestions? ( depending on who you talk to at fish and game Talipia is illegal!

A lot of edible species are illegal in Nor Cal (including tilapia). Some people might tell you that if you are keeping them as a "hobby" then you don't need a permit, but from my experience talking to my regional manager at Fish and Game, you need a "stocking permit". AND, if you don't live in the 6 Southern California counties that allow tilapia, you would be breaking the law. The link below has the regulatory stuff from Fish and Game. I am in LA county and have a tilapia stocking permit, but it was an incredibly lengthy process. It seems that Fish and Game is understaffed, and they haven't really caught on to the aquaponics craze. However, I know that most people stock and sell tilapia illegally (ie craigslist and so on). If you wanted to sell your fish, you would need to get an aquaculture permit (~$1000 every calendar year), but again, tilapia and many others are illegal in Nor Cal. I know that Viridis (http://www.viridisaquaponics.com/) in Nor Cal raise sturgeon.

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/Aquaculture/

From the "REGULATIONS GOVERNING PRIVATE STOCKING OF AQUATIC PLANTS AND ANIMALS (NONCOMMERCIAL)" PDF. The following fish do not require a permit.

white catfish
channel catfish
blue catfish
largemouth bass
bluegill
Sacramento perch
rainbow trout
redear sunfish

https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=3252&inline=true

I've gone through the process in So Cal with Fish and Game. If you have any more questions, let me know!

GOOD LUCK!