Fishery Notice

Conservation concerns for Interior Fraser Coho persist and will require that 2022 Coho management measures remain precautionary in offshore areas. 
WCVI wild Coho returns in 2022 are expected to be "moderate".  This improvement in forecasted returns to the WCVI will provide for increased wild retention opportunities in the inshore areas in 2022. Unless otherwise specified below, the daily limit for Coho is two (2) per day, hatchery-marked only from 00:01 hours June 1 to 23:59 hours December 31, 2022 in Areas 25 to 27, 121, and 125 to 127. 

Please be aware that these limits do not apply to fin-fish closed areas, or Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs). Fin-fish closures for 2022 will be announced in a subsequent Fishery Notice. Please check the DFO website referenced at the bottom of this notice for further information. 


Area 25 - Nootka Sound and Esperanza Inlet
--------------------------------------------
Effective 00:01 hours June 1, 2022 until 23:59 hours Dec 31, 2022, you may retain two (2) Coho per day, marked or unmarked except for the following;

Subareas 25-4 and 25-5 (Tlupana Inlet). 

Effective 00:01 hours July 15, 2022 until 23:59 hours Dec 31, 2022, you may retain four (4) Coho per day, two (2) of which may be unmarked;


Area 26 - Kyuquot Sound
------------------------
Effective 00:01 hours June 1, 2022 until 23:59 hours December 31, 2022, you may retain two (2) Coho per day, marked or unmarked except for; 

Effective 00:01 hours July 15 until 23:59 hours October 15, 2022 the following is a  Salmon Non-retention Area; that portion of Subareas 26-11 and 126-4 shoreward of a line drawn from Clerke Point on Vancouver Island located at 50 degrees 04.870'N and 127 degrees 48.856'W, then to a point along the Checleset Bay RCA boundary approximately 1 nautical mile from shore located at 50 degrees 04.059'N and 127 degrees 49.949'W, then to a point approximately 5.4 nautical miles to the northwest located at 50 degrees 06.079'N and 127 degrees 57.696'W, then to Solander Island light at 50 degrees 06.662'N and 127 degrees 56.434'W, then north-easterly approximately 0.8 nautical miles to a point on Vancouver Island (Brooks Peninsula) located at 50 degrees 06.840'N and 127 degrees 54.980'W .


Area 27 - Quatsino Sound
-------------------------
Effective 00:01 hours June 1, 2022 until 23:59 hours December 31, 2022, you may retain two (2) Coho per day, marked or unmarked except for;

Subarea 27-4 (Brooks Bay). 

Effective 00:01 hours June 1, 2022 until 23:59 hours December 31, 2022, you may retain two (2) Coho per day, hatchery-marked only.

Refer to the following website link for a description of the Area and Subarea maps and for information on salmon non-retention areas and fishing closures: http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/areas-secteurs-eng.html

Variation Order No. 2022-RFQ-230.


Notes:

Barbless hooks are required when fishing for salmon in tidal and non-tidal waters of British Columbia.  

The term "hatchery marked" means a fish that has a healed scar in place of the adipose fin.

Sport anglers are encouraged to participate in the Salmon Sport Head Recovery program by labeling and submitting heads from adipose fin-clipped chinook and Coho salmon.  Recovery of coded-wire tags provides critical information for coast-wide stock assessment.  Contact the Salmon Sport Head Recovery Program toll free at (866) 483-9994 for further information.

Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs) are currently in effect and are closed to all fin-fishing.  Descriptions of RCAs, other closures such as fin-fish closed areas and salmon non-retention areas, and other recreational fishing information, can be found on the Internet at:
www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/recfish

Did you witness suspicious fishing activity or a violation?  If so, please call the Fisheries and Ocean Canada 24-hour toll free Observe, Record, Report line at 1-800-465-4336.

For the 24 hour recorded opening and closure line, call toll free at 1-866-431-FISH (3474).

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
 
Contact the nearest Fisheries and Oceans Canada office or visit our website at http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

Fisheries & Oceans Operations Center - FN0535
Sent June 1, 2022 at 1022

Fishery Notice

BC Tidal Waters Sport Fishing Licences for the upcoming licence year, starting on April 1, 2022, will be available towards the end of March; a subsequent Fishery Notice will be posted to advise the actual date of availability.

New and significant conditions of the BC Tidal Waters Sport Fishing Licence for April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023 are as follows:

NEW FORMATTING:

--The licence is now a two page licence; you must print both pages and attach/keep them together - OR - have your licence immediately available to be viewed on an electronic device. Note that we were unable to keep the expanding number of conditions of licence on one page. Fishers are reminded that catch records must be immediately permanently recorded on the paper licence (on page 1), or in their NRLS account, for the following species and areas: Chinook and halibut retained in any Management Area, and lingcod retained in Areas 12 to 19 (excluding Subarea 12-14), and Subareas 20-5 to 20-7 and 29-5.
  
CRAB & PRAWN/SHRIMP TRAP FLOATS:

--Floats must be made of a durable material and designed for operation in marine waters. Avoid plastic jugs, bottles and foam blocks that may deteriorate or sink, or are hard to see or mark. This change supports improved enforcement, the removal of junk from marine waters, and supports cleaner oceans.

SALMON HEAD RECOVERY PROGRAM:

--The conditions of licence detail the equivalent head-off lengths for Chinook and coho salmon that may be retained during openings as described in the BC Sport Fishing Guide http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/index-eng.html. The online BC Sport Fishing Guide also provides details on overall length restrictions, how to make length measurements, packaging instructions and the Salmon Head Recovery Program.

--Fishers are encouraged to return Chinook and coho salmon heads to Salmon Head Recovery Depots for analysis by the Department; the recovery of coded-wire tags provides critical information for coast-wide stock assessment. More information on this program can be found in the online BC Sport Fishing Guide or by contacting the toll free phone number at (866) 483-9994. 

SPECIAL NOTES:

1) Under recent regulatory changes, violations of conditions of licence may be subject to a ticket/fine of $750, plus a 15% processing surcharge.

2) EFFECTIVE APRIL 1, 2023 - Crab & Prawn/Shrimp traps. The Department would like to advise that changes to the conditions of licence to standardize crab and prawn/shrimp float requirements will be proceeding for the licence year beginning on April 1, 2023. This change is required to support improved enforcement and catch monitoring. This advance notice is intended to provide stakeholders and gear manufacturers/distributors adequate time to prepare for these planned changes. Some fishers may be required to purchase new fishing gear over the next year in order to be in compliance on April 1, 2023 with the following requirements. 

- Crab Traps - Floats attached to crab traps must be bullet shaped cylindrical floats a minimum of 27cm in length and 12cm in diameter. Typically these are foam floats which can be found at most tackle retailers. 

- Prawn and Shrimp Traps - Floats attached to prawn and shrimp traps must be round (spherical) in shape and a minimum of 27cm in diameter. Typically these are 'Scotchman' style floats which can be found at most tackle retailers.   

These changes have been reviewed and approved by the Sport Fishing Advisory Board. 

OTHER NOTES:

--Tidal Water Sport Fishing Licences can be purchased via any computer connected to the internet at 
https://recfish-pechesportive.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/nrls-sndpp/index-eng.cfm

--Did you witness suspicious fishing activity or a violation?  If so, please call the Fisheries and Ocean Canada 24-hour toll free Observe, Record, Report line at (800) 465-4336.

--For the 24 hour recorded opening and closure line, call toll free at 1-(866)431-FISH(3474).


FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Feliksas Markevicius, 
Recreational Fisheries Advisor (Pacific Region) Fisheries & Oceans Canada
Feliksas.Markevicius@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Fisheries & Oceans Operations Center - FN0243
Sent March 16, 2022 at 1152

Fishery Notice

This Fishery Notice is an amendment to FN0288 to include measures for Subareas 20-1 and 20-2. The complete notice is as follows:

To address conservation concerns for at-risk Fraser River Chinook stocks, DFO is continuing precautionary reductions in recreational fisheries to support conservation of these stocks. This Fishery Notice provides the interim recreational fishery management measures to provide protection to at-risk Fraser River Chinook stocks in Areas 11 to 20, 111, and Subareas 29-1 to 29-5.  The interim measures to start the 2022 fishing season (beginning April 1, 2022) are the same measures that were in place at the beginning of last season. As these are interim measures, a further announcement on possible revised management actions will be announced in a subsequent Fishery Notice.

This notice also announces the mark-selective fisheries (MSFs) that were approved in the 2021/22 Integrated Fisheries Management Plan (IFMP) and that will be re-opening April 1, 2022.

Management measures to protect Fraser River Chinook stocks of concern:

Queen Charlotte Strait and Johnstone Strait - Area 12 (excluding Subarea 12-14); and Northern Strait of Georgia - Areas 13 to 17, and Subareas 29-1 to 29-2:
00:01 hours April 1 until 23:59 hours July 14: Chinook non-retention.
 
For clarity, in Areas 11 and 111, and Subarea 12-14, the daily limit of Chinook is two (2) per day, with a minimum size of 45 cm.

Southern Strait of Georgia and Juan de Fuca Strait (west)- Area 18, Subareas 19-1, 19-3 to 19-12, 20-3 to 20-7, and Subareas 29-3 to 29-5 (excluding those portions listed as closed below):

00:01 hours April 1 until 23:59 hours July 31: Chinook non-retention.

Reminder: Subarea 19-2 (Esquimalt Harbour) is closed to all fishing activity.

Those portions of Subareas 29-3 to 29-5 that lie east of a line from Gower Point (49 23.021'N, 123 32.166' W) near Gibsons to Shah Point on the southern tip of Valdes Island (49 01.695'N, 123 35.721'W):

00:01 hours April 1 until 23:59 hours July 31: No fishing for Chinook.

Juan de Fuca Strait (east) - Subareas 20-1 and 20-2:

00:01 hours April 1 until 23:59 hours July 14, 2022: Chinook non-retention

Mark-selective fisheries:

Area 12 (portions of Broughton Archipelago/Knight Inlet):

Subareas 12-27, 12-28, 12-35, 12-38, and 12-40; and

That portion of 12-26 north of line from Dinner Point on Village Island (50°37.628'N, 126°30.322'W) across to a point on the opposite shore on Turnour Island (50°37.536'N, 126°29.845' W); AND east of the Lower Clio RCA boundary line at 50°35.397'N, 126°31.982'W; 50°34.943'N, 126°32.080'W; and

That portion of 12-39 northeasterly of a line from Gordon Point on Broughton Island (50°45.885'N, 126°44.158'W) across to the RCA boundary on Eden Island (50°45.510'N, 126°42.831'W);  AND those portions of Subarea 12-39 east of the Eden-Bonwick-Midsummer-Swanson Islands RCA; and

That portion of Subarea 12-41 north of a line from Popplewell Point (50º50.756'N, 126º57.317'W) to the RCA boundary at Bourmaster Point (50º50.700'N, 126º55.574'W):

Effective 00:01 hours April 1, 2022, until 23:59 hours July 14, 2022, the daily limit for Chinook is one (1) Chinook per day marked or unmarked, with maximum 80 cm size limit on unmarked Chinook. For clarity, there is no maximum size limit on hatchery marked Chinook. The minimum size for all Chinook is 62 cm in Area 12 (excluding Subarea 12-14).

Area 13 (Portions of Bute Inlet and Ramsay Arm):

That portion of Subarea 13-19 northerly of a line that runs from 50°19.584'N, 125°00.292'W (on Raza Island) to 50°19.9463'N, 125°01.9274'W (southeast of Frances Bay); and

Subarea 13-21:

Effective 00:01 hours April 1, 2022, until 23:59 hours July 14, 2022, the daily limit for Chinook is one (1) Chinook per day marked or unmarked, with maximum 80 cm size limit on unmarked Chinook. For clarity, there is no maximum size limit on hatchery marked Chinook. The minimum size for all Chinook is 62 cm in Area 13.

Area 15 (portions of Toba Inlet):

That portion of 15-5 north of a line from Tibbs Point on Raza Island (50°18.731?N 124°57.980?W) to Connis Point on West Redonda Island (50°18.287?N 124°55.177?W); AND northerly of a line from Dean Point on West Redonda Island (50°17.147'N, 124°47.172'W) across to a point on East Redonda Island (50°17.145'N, 124°46.989'W); AND north of a line from Price Point (50°09.399'N, 124°39.165'W) to East Redonda Island (50°10.075'N,124°41.763'W); and

That portion of Subarea 15-6 (in Toba Inlet) west of a line from a boundary sign at Snout Point to a boundary sign on the opposite shore:

Effective 00:01 hours April 1, 2022, until 23:59 hours July 14, 2022, the daily limit for Chinook is one (1) Chinook per day marked or unmarked, with maximum 80 cm size limit on unmarked Chinook. For clarity, there is no maximum size limit on hatchery marked Chinook. The minimum size for all Chinook is 62 cm in Area 15.

Area 16 (portions of Sechelt and Jervis Inlets):

Subareas 16-6, 16-9, 16-12; and

That portion of Subarea 16-7 westerly of the Salmon Inlet RCA boundary following a meridian passing through at 123°43.00'W (near Black Bear Bluff); and

That portion of Subarea 16-8 west of a line from a point on land at 49°41.5'N, 123°48.4'W, across to a point on the other shore at 49°41.1'N, 123°47.7'W; and

That portion of Subarea 16-10 north of a line from a point on land at 49°40.0'N, 124°04.3'W, across to a point on the other shore at 49°40.0'N, 124°05.1'W; and

That portion of Subarea 16-11 north of a line from a point on land at 49°44.99'N, 124°15.57'W, across to Ball Point (corner of the Hardy Island RCA) at 49°45.100'N, 124°13.750'W; and

That portion of Subarea 16-13 south of a line from a point on land at 49°50.7'N, 123°55.2'W then across to a point on the opposite shore at 49°50.2'N, 123°52.9'W:

Effective 00:01 hours April 1, 2022, until 23:59 hours July 14, 2022, the daily limit on Chinook is one (1) Chinook per day marked or unmarked, with maximum 80 cm size limit on unmarked Chinook. For clarity, there is no maximum size limit on hatchery marked Chinook and the minimum size is 62 cm in Area 16.

Subarea 20-5 (portion of Beecher Bay):

Effective 00:01 hours April 1, 2022, until 23:59 hours July 31, 2022, the daily limit of Chinook is one (1) Chinook per day, hatchery-marked only, in the following waters:

That portion of Subarea 20-5 northerly of a line drawn from 48°19.554'N, 123°37.768'W to 48°19.589'N, 123°36.533'W, then following the shoreline of Frazer Island east to the RCA boundary at 48°19.700'N, 123°36.267'W, then to 48°19.633'N, 123°35.681'W.

Reminder: The minimum size in Area 20 is 45 cm.

Variation Order: 2022-RFQ-064
	
Coast-wide Recreational Fisheries:

For the recreational fishery, the annual aggregate limit for Chinook salmon is ten (10) coast-wide in all tidal waters.

Variation Order: 2022-RFQ-009

Fishers are reminded that minimum legal size limits apply and to check the species regulations for the areas being fished.

Notes:

Barbless hooks are required when fishing for salmon in tidal and non-tidal waters of British Columbia.  

The term "hatchery marked" or "marked" means a fish that has a healed scar in place of the adipose fin. This is also referred to as an adipose fin-clipped (AFC) fish. Unmarked fish still have an adipose fin present.

Sport anglers are encouraged to participate in the Salmon Sport Head Recovery program by labeling and submitting heads from adipose fin-clipped Chinook and Coho Salmon.  Recovery of coded-wire tags provides critical information for coast-wide stock assessment. Contact the Salmon Sport Head Recovery Program toll free at 1-866-483-9994 for further information.

Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs) are currently in effect and are closed to all fin-fishing.  Descriptions of RCAs, other closures such as finfish closed areas and salmon non-retention areas, and other recreational fishing information, can be found on the Internet at: www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/recfish

Did you witness suspicious fishing activity or a violation?  If so, please call the Fisheries and Ocean Canada 24-hour toll free Observe, Record, Report line at 1-800-465-4336 or by email at DFO.ORR-ONS.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

For the 24 hour recorded opening and closure line, call toll free at 
1-866-431-FISH (3474).

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
 
Contact the nearest Fisheries and Oceans Canada office or visit our website at http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

Fisheries & Oceans Operations Center - FN0311
Sent March 25, 2022 at 1542

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