Unlawful fishing

You must follow all regulations while fishing. See our Recreational fishing limits, openings and closures page and review these unlawful actions to understand what you can and can’t do while recreational fishing in tidal waters in B.C.

Before you fish

You must obtain a valid licence. It is illegal to:

• fish for salmon or other finfish, or harvest shellfish without a valid licence
• catch and keep salmon without a valid Salmon conservation stamp attached to your licence

While you fish

You must fish only in allowed areas. It is illegal to:

• fish in a Rockfish Conservation Area (RCA)
• trap or pen fish in their spawning ground, or in rivers or streams that lead to spawning grounds
• fish in an area or time when it is closed, or fish in protected areas closed to certain types of fishing

You must catch or attempt to catch only allowable species. It is illegal to:

• kill, harm, harass, capture or take a species listed as extirpated, endangered or threatened under the Species at Risk Act

You must catch and retain only your allowable quota. It is illegal to:

• possess more than your daily limit or possession limit except for what is at your ordinary residence
• fail to release with the least amount of harm any fish caught that you may not legally retain; when releasing a fish, you must immediately return it to the water you caught it from

You must protect Canadian waters from invasive species. It is illegal to:

• release live fish into any fish habitat except for fish that you immediately return to the water you caught it from

You must use the correct gear.

Hooks

It is illegal to:

• use barbed hooks when fishing for salmon, cutthroat trout or steelhead in tidal waters, including in tidal portions of streams (such as the Fraser River and Skeena River)
• use more than one hook, an artificial lure or an artificial fly attached except in:
  • the tidal waters of the Fraser River where 2 hooks, artificial lures or artificial flies attached to a bar rig are allowed
  • tidal waters if multiple hooks are used in combination to hold a single piece of bait or if fishing for herring, mackerel, northern anchovy, Pacific sand lance, Pacific sardine or squid
• use gaff hooks while fishing except as an aid to landing a fish

Other gear and methods

It is illegal to:

• willfully foul hook or attempt to foul hook any fish except herring, mackerel, northern anchovy, Pacific sand lance, Pacific sardine and squid
• use spears to fish for salmon, trout, char, sturgeon, octopus or shellfish other than shrimp
• use explosives or chemicals to molest, injure or kill fish
• use snares to catch or attempt to catch any fish, including crab
• use torches or artificial lights while recreationally fishing except when they are submerged and attached to a fishing line, within 1 m of the fishing hook
• use a fixed weight (sinker) greater than 1 kg except on a downrigger line, in which case the fishing line must be attached to the downrigger by a release clip
• leave a fishing line unattended in the water

After you fish

You must package, transport and retain your fish correctly. It is illegal to:

• buy, sell or barter or attempt to buy, sell or barter any fish caught by recreational fishing
• possess any recreationally caught fish that is not correctly packaged; see how to package and transport your catch for:
  • salmon
  • finfish (other than salmon)
  • crab, prawn and other shellfish
• field-can any fish outside of a person's ordinary residence, other than at a registered licensed facility

Penalties

Penalties for contravention of the British Columbia Sport Fishing Regulations include:

• voluntary ticket payments up to $1,000 and possible seizure and forfeiture of fishing gear and catch
• court-imposed fines up to $100,000 on first offence and possible court-imposed forfeiture of fishing gear, catch, vessel or other equipment used in the commission of an offence
• suspension or cancellation of licences