Frequently asked questions about the FishingBC app

Carrying an electronic licence is voluntary, and you may continue to use a paper licence. To obtain an electronic licence you may use the FishingBC App to link to your National Recreational Licensing System (NRLS) account, and then your licence is automatically downloaded as a .pdf from your NRLS account to your app account. If you later decide to unlink your app account from your NRLS account, you will no longer be able to access the licence .pdf in your app account.

Whether you choose to carry an electronic or paper version of your licence, , you must still maintain mandatory catch records for Chinook salmon and halibut caught in all tidal areas, and lingcod caught in Areas 12 to 19 (excluding Subarea 12-14) and Subareas 20-5 to 20-7 and 29-5, on your licence, and you are required to have the licence available for inspection upon request by a fishery officer, fishery guardian, conservation officer, or other enforcement authority, both while fishing and when transporting catch.

Catch recording requirements are outlined in Section 22 of the British Columbia Sport Fishing Regulations, and in the Conditions of Licence.

Yes. You can download a copy of your electronic licence as a .pdf download from your NRLS account to your mobile device, however you will not be able to record catch to it, and will need a paper licence to record catch, or record catch to your NRLS account, for Chinook and halibut caught in all tidal areas, and lingcod caught in Areas 12 to 19 (excluding Subarea 12-14) and Subareas 20-5 to 20-7 and 29-5, to present to a fishery officer, fishery guardian, conservation officer, or other enforcement authority, upon request.

Note that the app catch log will continue to allow you to record catch to your licence .pdf while you are outside cell range; whereas you will not be able to access NRLS while outside of cell range, as NRLS is not available as a mobile app.

You must first create an account in NRLS, and then purchase a Tidal Waters Sport Fishing Licence. You must also download the FishingBC app to your mobile device and create an account.

Once these steps have been taken, you may voluntarily link your FishingBC app account to your NRLS account following the instructions in the app. Once linked, your NRLS licence will be available on the app, where it will need to be shown for inspection upon request to a fishery officer, fishery guardian, conservation officer, or other enforcement authority.

Yes. If you are planning on retaining Pacific salmon that you catch, you must first purchase a Salmon Conservation Stamp for your licence. Once you have purchased the stamp through your NRLS account, it will be on the electronic licence, both in NRLS and in the FishingBC app, when you have linked the accounts.

See the FishingBC app instructions to learn how to record your catch to the app catch log.

By regulation, you must immediately record on your licence your retained catch of Chinook salmon and halibut caught in all tidal areas, and lingcod caught in Areas 12 to 19 (excluding Subarea 12-14) and Subareas 20-5 to 20-7 and 29-5, whether on your paper licence, in your NRLS account, or in the FishingBC mobile application.

For linked accounts, catch recorded in the FishingBC app’s catch log records will automatically appear on the licence when it is displayed in the app. When you are within wifi or cell service range, your catch data will automatically be transmitted to the catch log in your NRLS account. Any released catch with catch records marked as 'Released' in the App will not appear in the licence, nor be sent to your NRLS account.

Do not record the same catch in both the FishingBC app and NRLS! The app is designed to work with NRLS – catch recorded in NRLS will appear in the app and catch recorded in the app will be uploaded to NRLS.

Remember that catch records, once made, cannot be corrected or deleted by you. If you have made an error in your catch record that needs to be changed, please contact us.

You must immediately record your retained catch of Chinook salmon and halibut caught in all tidal areas, and lingcod caught in Areas 12 to 19 (excluding Subarea 12-14) and Subareas 20-5 to 20-7 and 29-5 on your paper licence, or in your NRLS account, or in the FishingBC app catch log.

Catch data for other species is not required by regulation to be recorded and is not shown on the licence, although the FishingBC app catch log allows you to record these catch details as well, as well as catch that is 'released'; these records are not uploaded to your NRLS account.

Yes. Both NRLS and the app catch log will track the date and time of each catch record, and the catch records table on the electronic licence will show the date and time of the most recent catch record saved to NRLS or the app catch log.

Where retention of catch is allowed by regulation, in the annual period between April 1 and March 31, you may only retain the annual limit of 10 each of Chinook salmon and halibut in all tidal areas, and lingcod caught in Areas 12 to 19 (excluding Subarea 12-14) and Subareas 20-5 to 20-7 and 29-5. These catches must be recorded either on your paper licence, in your NRLS account or in the FishingBC App catch log.

Note that area and species closures, and daily and other limits, such as size limits, occur throughout the year; for these important additional requirements, and for catch limits for other species, please see DFO’s Sport Fishing Guide.

FishingBC app users who choose to use the electronic licence feature must first give their consent in the App to link their accounts and to share their data between the App and NRLS. App users may withdraw their consent and unlink their app and NRLS accounts at any time. For app users that link or have previously linked accounts with NRLS, the app user’s account, licence, and catch record data may be subject to access by DFO under any licence or catch record regulatory enforcement action. In addition, catch record data is routinely shared between the app and NRLS for currently linked accounts.

Yes. If you choose to unlink your FishingBC app account from your NRLS account, your NRLS licence will no longer be available in the App. As long as you were in wifi or cell range when you unlinked the accounts, your catch will have been uploaded to your NRLS account. If you do unlink, remember to transfer all of your annual retained catch to a paper licence for Chinook salmon and halibut caught in all tidal areas, and lingcod caught in Areas 12 to 19 (excluding Subarea 12-14) and Subareas 20-5 to 20-7 and 29-5 so that you can immediately show it to a fishery officer, fishery guardian, conservation officer, or other enforcement authority.

No. Each App account can only link to one NRLS account. Currently the FishingBC app cannot link to 'Dependent' accounts in NRLS - the app will only show and share the primary licence and catch data. If an app user has dependent accounts in their NRLS account they wish to link, then dependents must create separate accounts both in the app and in NRLS. Remember that NRLS email addresses may be shared but passwords must be different for each separate account. More information can be found here.

In order to use electronic licence and catch reporting functions in the FishingBC mobile application, you will need a mobile device, such as a smart phone or tablet (iOS, or Android) with an internet connection.

Your licence display and catch recording will still work in the FishingBC App and will be able to be viewed for inspection upon request. When your mobile device returns to cell or wifi service range, the catch records will be transmitted to your NRLS account.

Check your link! Before every fishing trip check your link to NRLS (and re-link if necessary) - The link between your FishingBC app account and your NRLS account may sometimes be broken because of technical issues. If you experience difficulties linking accounts, please contact us. A link is currently required to ensure that the licence is available to be viewed in the app on your mobile device. Consider carrying a paper licence (and pen) as a backup in case you encounter any technical difficulties. In addition, linked accounts will expire annually and need to be re-linked for each new licence year.

Yes. As of December 2023, the FishingBC application is in its initial implementation phase and we recommend that you carry a paper licence with you and record your catch on it as a backup, so that you are ready to immediately present this to a fishery officer, fishery guardian, conservation officer, or other enforcement authority, upon request.

Specific known issues include:

• Voided licences: if your NRLS account has a licence that has been voided in the current year, as well as a valid licence, the licence and catch data may not display correctly in the App; please use a paper licence until this is fixed.
• Dependent accounts: NRLS allows Dependent accounts; however, this is not currently supported by the app. App users are advised to not link to an NRLS account with a Dependent. In NRLS, dependent accounts should be split off from the NRLS parent account before the app users link to either account.

Updates to these items are expected prior to April 1, 2024.