Rockfish conservation areas
Monitoring and research programs in BC indicate that inshore rockfish, especially within the inland waters of Vancouver Island, are at low levels of abundance. We need your help to protect and conserve these species.
There are 37 species of rockfish that are caught in fisheries off the coast of British Columbia. Inshore rockfish species (which include yelloweye, quillback, copper, china, and tiger) are usually caught with hook and line gear in rocky reef habitats. Our rockfish conservation strategy is designed to alleviate further rockfish population decline through catch restrictions, fishery monitoring, stock assessment programs, and Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs) are established throughout the BC coast. Within RCAs, inshore rockfish are protected from all mortality associated with recreational and commercial fisheries.
On this page
- Rockfish conservation areas
- Permitted fishing within rockfish conservation areas
- Publications
- Related links
Rockfish conservation areas
- Areas 1, 2 and 101 to 102
- Areas 3 to 5 and 103 to 105
- Areas 6 to 10 and 106 to 110
- Areas 12 to 20, 28 and; 29
- Areas 11, 21 to 27, 111, and 121 to 127
Permitted fishing within rockfish conservation areas
Fishing activity not listed below is restricted.
Commercial fishing
- invertebrates by hand picking or dive
- crab by trap
- prawn by trap
- scallops by trawl
- salmon by seine or gillnet
- herring by gillnet, seine and spawn-on-kelp
- sardine by gillnet, seine, and trap
- smelt by gillnet
- euphausiid (krill) by mid-water trawl
- groundfish by mid-water trawl
Recreational fishing
- invertebrates by hand picking or dive
- crab by trap
- shrimp/prawn by trap
- smelt by gillnet
Publications
- You can protect BC's tiger and other inshore rockfish
- What is barotrauma and why are rockfish at risk
Related links
- Rockfish identification
- A regional assessment of ecological attributes in rockfish conservation areas in British Columbia:
- Risk assessment of permitted human activities in Rockfish Conservation Areas in British Columbia:
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