Area 12

EXPECT IN-SEASON CHANGES!

The closures and restrictions described in this Area may be varied by Fishery Notice. These management changes and additional openings and closures are indicated in red on this page. You can also click on Updates on the left bar to see Fishery Notices.

Click the following links for the appropriate information:
Salmon | All Finfish (including Salmon) | Finfish (other than Salmon)
Shellfish | Area 12 Map

Salmon

Barbless hooks must be used when fishing for salmon in all tidal waters of British Columbia.

Openings & Closures:

Species	Min Size	Daily Limit	Possess. Limit	Annual Limit	Season Open	Gear Permitted
Chinook	62 cm	2	4	30	All Year	Hook & Line
Chum	30 cm	4	8	N/A	All Year	Hook & Line
Hatchery Coho *	30 cm	2	4	N/A	Jun 1-Dec 31	Hook & Line
Pink	30 cm	4	8	N/A	All Year	Hook & Line
Sockeye	30 cm	To be determined	To be determined	N/A	All Year	Hook & Line
The combined daily limit for all species of Pacific salmon from tidal waters is 4. Coastwide daily limit for chinook is 2. Aggregate daily limit for all species of Pacific salmon from tidal and non-tidal waters combined is 4.

Map: 2010 Coho and Chinook Openings and Closures Area 12 Queen Charlotte Sound Area (PDF)

Recreational fishers' cooperation with Aboriginal food, social, and ceremonial (FSC) Fisheries in Areas 11, 12 and 13

* Coho: Subareas 111, 11-1, 11-2 and 12-14 (Portion of Queen Charlotte Sound): June 1 -  July 31, 2010 : Two (2) Coho per day (hatchery marked or unmarked). Aug. 1 -  Dec. 31, 2010: Two (2) Coho per day, one (1) of which may be wild (unmarked). Listed on 31/05/2010 FN0385

* Coho: Subareas 12-3 to 12-13, 12-15 to 12-19 and 12-21 to 12-48: June 1 -  July 31, 2010: Two (2) Coho per day one (1) of which may be wild (unmarked). Listed on 31/05/2010 FN0385 

* Coho: Portion of Subarea 12-4 shoreward of a line running from Lewis Point to 50° 32.839' north latitude and 126°50.122' west longitude near the southwest entrance to Telegraph Cove (commonly known as Beaver Cove): Aug. 1 -  Dec. 31: Two (2) Coho per day, one (1) of which may be wild (unmarked). Listed on 31/05/2010 FN0385 

* Coho: Portion of Subarea 12-19, in the waters of McNeill Bay inside a line from Ledge Point to the BC Ferry Terminal: Aug. 1 -  Dec. 31: Two (2) Coho per day, one (1) of which may be wild (unmarked). Listed on 31/05/2010 FN0385 

* Coho: Subareas 12-26 to 12-48 (Mainland Inlets): Aug. 1 -  Dec. 31: Two (2) Coho per day, one (1) of which may be wild (unmarked). Listed on 31/05/2010 FN0385 

* Coho: Portion of Subarea 12-16 (Hardy Bay) inside of line from Duval to Daphne Point: Aug. 1 -  Dec. 31, 2010 : Four (4) hatchery marked Coho per day. Listed on 31/05/2010 FN0385

All Species: Aug 1-Sep 30: In Subarea 12-16, the waters of Hardy Bay shoreward of a line from a boundary sign on the Keltic Seafoods wharf to a boundary sign on the opposite shore (inner portion of Hardy Bay): you may only use a single-pointed hook that measures no more than 15 mm between the point and shank when fishing.

All Species: Aug 1-Sep 30: In Subarea 12-16, the mouth of the Keogh River within a 400 m radius of the shore: you may only use a single-pointed hook that measures no more than 15 mm between the point and shank when fishing.

All Species: Aug 1-Sep 30: In Subarea 12-17, those waters inside a line that starts at a boundary sign approx. 1.9 km northwest of the Cluxewe river mouth, then to 50°37.53’ N and 127°12.21’W, then to 50°36.98’N and 127°09.53’W, then 200° true to a boundary sign on the shore: only a single-pointed hook may be used.

Chinook: Jan 1- Dec 31: Minimum size limit is 62 cm.

Chinook: Aug 1-Oct 31: Subarea 12-19: Non-retention in the waters of Broughton Strait southerly of a line from Ledge Point to the light on the southern end of Haddington Island, then to the light on Yellow Bluff on Cormorant Island, then following the southerly shoreline to a marker on Gordon Bluff, then to Lewis Point on Vancouver Island.

All Finfish, Including Salmon Closures and Special Measures

For other finfish limits, please visit the species and limits table.

Those waters of Port McNeill Bay westerly of a line from a boundary sign at the north end of the Western Forest Products jetty, true north to a boundary sign on the opposite shore of Ledge Point Peninsula, are closed to fishing for all finfish from August 15 to December 31.

The mouth of the Klinaklini River (Knight Inlet) shoreward of a line from a fishing boundary signs at the southern entrance to Wahshihlas Bay to a fishing boundary sign at Rubble Point is closed to fishing for all finfish, all year.

The mouth of Scott Cove Creek and Viner Sound shoreward of a line between two fishing boundary signs located at King Point and the boundary sign located on the Gilford Island point approximately 1km South of Scott Cove Creek on the point 1 km south from the mouth of Scott Cove Creek is closed to fishing for all finfish August 15 to September 30.

The mouth of the Kingcome River shoreward of a line from a fishing boundary signs on Petley Point to a fishing boundary sign on a point on the opposite shore of Kingcome Inlet is closed to fishing for all finfish, all year.

The mouth of the Wakeman River north of a line connecting two fishing boundary signs on opposite shores approx. 6 km from the head of Wakeman Sound is closed to fishing for all finfish, all year.

The mouth of Nimpkish River inside a line from a fishing boundary sign at a point on the shore of Vancouver Island approximately 1.5 km east of Broad Point, then to a navigational aid in the middle of Haddington Passage, then to a fishing boundary sign at a point approximately 1 km east of Willow Creek, then to the tidal water boundary signs approximately 100 m upstream of the Highway 19 bridge is closed to fishing for all finfish June 1 to November 30.

Sub-area 12-20: Parson Bay bounded inside a line from Red Point on Harbledown Island to a marker on the most northwest point of Parson Island, from there following the northern shore to the most easterly point and from there true east to Harbledown Island is closed to fishing for all finfish, June 15 to September 30.

Rockfish Conservation Areas
Bate-Shadwell Passage	Goletas Channel
Browning Passage-Hunt Rock	Bolivar Passage
Shelter Bay	Browning Islands to Raynor Group
Drury Inlet-Muirhead Islands	Hardy Bay-Five Fathom Rock
Numas Islands	Suquash
Haddington Passage	Burley Bay–Nepah Lagoon
Mackenzie–Nimmo	Wakeman Sound
Dickson Polkinghorne Islands	Nowell Channel
Greenway Sound	Belleisle Sound
Kwatsi Bay	Bond Sound
Thompson Sound	Salmon Channel
Weynton Passage	Port Elizabeth
Eden-Bonwick-Midsummer-Swanson Islands
Lower Clio Channel	Viscount Island
Havannah Channel	Upper Call Inlet
Cracroft Point South–Sophia Islands	West Cracroft–Boat Bay

Finfish (Other than Salmon)

Halibut: Effective Feb. 1, 2010: the daily limit for Halibut will be one (1) per day with a possession limit of two (2).  Listed on 20/01/2010 FN0032

Lingcod: April 1 to November 15, 2010: fishing for Lingcod will open in Areas 11, 21 to 27, 111, 121, 123 to 127, 130 and 142 and Subareas 12-14 and 20- 1 to 20-4. The daily limit is three (3) per day with a possession limit of six (6). The minimum size is 65cm.

The exceptions to this opening are:

• Area 121: February 1 to December 31, 2010: No person shall fish for or retain halibut, rockfish and lingcod in Area 121 outside the 12 nautical mile limit seaward of a line that begins at 48 degrees 34.000 minutes North latitude and 125 degrees 17.386 minutes West longitude and continues south easterly at a bearing of 116 degrees True to a point at 48 degrees 28.327 minutes North latitude and 125 degrees 01.687 minutes West longitude.
• Area 121: A reminder to recreational harvesters, that the waters of Swiftsure Bank, inside a line from 48°34.00'N and 125°06.00'W, thence to 48°34.00'N and 124° 54.20'W, thence to 48°29.62'N and 124°43.40'W, thence following the International Boundary between Canada and the U.S. to 48°29.55'N and 124° 56.20'W, thence in a straight line to the point of commencement, are closed to all finfish, all year. Map (PDF)

Note: Rockfish Conservations Areas (RCA's) remain in effect. Listed on 23/03/2010 FN0203

Subareas 12-1 to 12-13, 12-15 to 12-48: Lingcod: Fishing for Lingcod will open May 1 to September 30, 2010. Daily limit: one (1) Minimum size limit: 65cm (Note: this is a change from 2009) Annual limit: ten (10). Note: Subarea 12-14 is already open. Listed on 09/04/2010 FN0261

Rockfish: Fishing for Rockfish will open May 1 to September 30, 2010. Daily limit: one (1). No minimum size limit or annual limit is in effect. Listed on 09/04/2010 FN0261

Shellfish

See the Shellfish Table for limits.
Please see important Additional Shellfish Information.

Be sure to check for both PSP and Sanitary Contamination Closures if you plan on consuming any shellfish.

Nimpkish Estuary Special Management Area: From June 15 to September 14, the daily limit for all crab species (other than King or Box crab) is reduced to two in Subarea 12-19: those waters at the mouth of the Nimpkish River that lie inside a line that begins at a boundary sign approx. 1.5 km easterly of Broad Pt, then continues to navigation aid N17, then to a boundary sign located approximately easterly of Willow Creek then following the shoreline of Vancouver Island to the beginning point. Only dip nets, ring nets or hand picking is permitted to harvest crab in this area at this time.

Shellfish Contamination
Hardy Bay; Echo Bay; Beaver Harbour; Port Neville; Hopetown Passage; Macgowan Bay; bay west of Everard Islets; Shoal Harbour; Little Nimmo Bay; Southeast Turnour Island; Sutherland Bay; Double Bay; Alert Bay; north side of Cormorant Island; Clam Cove; Laura Bay; Burly Bay; Dickson Island; Shushartie Bay; Helen Bay; and Joe Cove Bay.
May 31 to September 30: Cutter Cove.