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British Columbia Sport Fishing Regulations, 1996 (SOR/96-137)

Regulations are current to 2024-08-18 and last amended on 2024-06-17. Previous Versions

PART IVFishing for Salmon in Tidal and Non-Tidal Waters (continued)

Monthly Quota for Chinook Salmon

 No person shall catch and retain in a month in any lake or stream, more than 10 chinook salmon, in the aggregate, that measure more than 50 cm in overall length.

  • SOR/2002-380, s. 7(E)

Aggregate Annual Quotas

 No person shall catch and retain in a year more than:

  • (a) 20 chinook salmon, in the aggregate, from the waters of Subareas 19-1 to 19-4 and 20-5 to 20-7;

  • (b) 15 chinook salmon, in the aggregate, from the waters of Area 12 (not including Subarea 12-14), Areas 13 to 18, Area 19 (not including Subareas 19-1 to 19-4), Area 28 and Area 29 (not including the tidal portion of the Fraser River);

  • (c) 10 chinook salmon that measure more than 50 cm in overall length from the tidal portion of the Fraser River;

  • (d) 30 chinook salmon, in the aggregate, from all tidal waters, not including chinook salmon that measure 50 cm or less in overall length that are taken from the tidal portion of the Fraser River; or

  • (e) 10 chinook salmon that measure more than 50 cm in overall length from all non-tidal waters.

Size Limits

 No person shall catch and retain a salmon of a species set out in column I of Schedule VI, in any Subarea, lake or stream, the overall length of which is less than the minimum overall length set out in column II.

  • SOR/2001-156, s. 11

Method, Gear and Bait Restrictions

 No person shall fish for salmon by a method or with a type of gear or bait set out in column I of an item of the table to this section in any Subarea, lake or stream during the close time set out in column II of that item.

TABLE

Close Times for Salmon Angling by Method, Gear and Bait

ItemColumn IColumn II
Method, Gear or BaitClose Time
METHOD
1Fly fishingFrom 23:00 hrs to 24:00 hrs on Dec. 31
2Angling other than fly fishingFrom 23:00 hrs to 24:00 hrs on Dec. 31
GEAR
3A hook having more than one pointFrom 23:00 hrs to 24:00 hrs on Dec. 31
4Barbed hookFrom 23:00 hrs to 24:00 hrs on Dec. 31
5A hook having a single point greater than 15 mm from point to shankFrom 23:00 hrs to 24:00 hrs on Dec. 31
BAIT
6Natural baitFrom 23:00 hrs to 24:00 hrs on Dec. 31
7Dead fin fish other than roeJan. 1 to Dec. 31
8Live fin fish other than roeJan. 1 to Dec. 31
9A hook or an artificial lureFrom 23:00 hrs to 24:00 hrs on Dec. 31
  • SOR/2002-380, s. 8(E)

 No person shall fish for salmon other than by angling.

PART VFishing for Fin Fish Other than Salmon in Non-Tidal Waters

Application

 This Part applies to fishing for fin fish, other than salmon, in non-tidal waters.

Gear

 Subject to section 53, no person shall fish other than by angling or with a set line.

  • SOR/2001-156, s. 12

Spears

 A person may fish with a spear for burbot or fish of any species not listed in the table to section 58 in Regions 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Set Lines

 A person who is fishing with a set line shall not

  • (a) use more than one set line;

  • (b) use a hook that is less than 3 cm measured from the point to the shank; or

  • (c) retain fish of any species listed in the table to section 58 other than burbot.

Close Times

  •  (1) No person shall fish for, or catch and retain, fish of any species, in a lake or stream, from 23:00 hrs to 24:00 hrs on December 31.

  • (2) The close time established by subsection (1) is considered to be fixed separately and individually for each species of fish.

Daily Quotas

  •  (1) No person shall catch and retain in a day more fish of a species set out in column I of Schedule VII, of an overall length set out in column II, than

    • (a) the daily quota set out in column III or the daily catch limit under section 7 of the Yukon Territory Fishery Regulations, in respect of fish caught in Atlin Lake, Bennett Lake, Laidlaw Lake, Morley Lake, Tagish Lake, Teslin Lake, or in Rancheria River, Swift River or their tributaries; or

    • (b) the daily quota set out in column III, in any other case.

  • (2) A person who, in a day, has caught and retained the daily quota for steelhead in a lake or stream shall cease fishing in that lake or stream for the rest of the day.

  • SOR/2001-156, s. 13

Aggregate Daily Quotas

 No person shall catch and retain in a day from any lake or stream, more than

  • (a) six wild rainbow trout and hatchery rainbow trout, in the aggregate;

  • (b) one wild steelhead and hatchery steelhead, in the aggregate;

  • (c) six wild cutthroat trout and hatchery cutthroat trout, in the aggregate;

  • (d) six wild brown trout and hatchery brown trout, in the aggregate;

  • (e) six wild brook trout and hatchery brook trout, in the aggregate;

  • (f) six wild Dolly Varden and hatchery Dolly Varden, in the aggregate;

  • (g) six wild lake trout and hatchery lake trout, in the aggregate;

  • (h) four smallmouth and largemouth bass, in the aggregate; or

  • (i) 25 wild kokanee and hatchery kokanee, in the aggregate.

  • SOR/2002-380, s. 9(E)

 No person shall catch and retain in a day a quantity of fish of a species set out in column I of an item of the table to this section, from all non-tidal waters, that exceeds the aggregate daily quota set out in column II of that item.

TABLE

ItemColumn IColumn II
SpeciesAggregate Daily Quota
1Rainbow trout6
2Steelhead1
3Cutthroat trout6
4Brown trout6
5Dolly Varden6
6Lake trout6
7Brook trout6
8Bass4
9Whitefish15
10Arctic grayling3
11Burbot10
12Kokanee25
13Northern pike5
14Walleye8
15White sturgeon1
16Yellow perch20
17Inconnu1
18Black crappie20
19Goldeye10
20Crayfish25

Monthly Quota for Steelhead

 No person shall catch and retain in a month more than two steelhead in any lake or stream.

  • SOR/2002-380, s. 10

Annual Quotas

 No person shall catch and retain in a year more than

  • (a) 10 steelhead;

  • (b) one white sturgeon;

  • (c) five rainbow trout greater than 50 cm in overall length from the part of Kootenay Lake east of a line between signs posted at Balfour Point and Proctor Lighthouse;

  • (d) five rainbow trout greater than 50 cm in overall length from Shuswap Lake, including Seymour Arm, Anstey Arm and Salmon Arm, Little Shuswap Lake, and the portion of South Thompson River (Little River) between those lakes and Mara Lake; or

  • (e) five Dolly Varden and lake trout greater than 60 cm in overall length, in the aggregate, from Shuswap Lake, including Seymour Arm, Anstey Arm and Salmon Arm, Little Shuswap Lake, and the portion of South Thompson River (Little River) between those lakes and Mara Lake.

  • SOR/2001-156, s. 14(F)

Miscellaneous

 No person shall use as bait or possess for that purpose any freshwater invertebrate at a lake.

 Subject to these Regulations, no person shall deposit any substance into the water for the purpose of attracting fish.

Method, Gear and Bait Restrictions

 No person shall fish for any species of fish by a method or with a type of gear or bait set out in column I of an item of the table to this section, in a lake or stream, during the close time set out in column II of that item.

TABLE

Close Times for Fishing by Method, Gear and Bait

ItemColumn IColumn II
Method, Gear or BaitClose Time
METHOD
1Fly fishingFrom 23:00 hrs to 24:00 hrs on Dec. 31
2Angling other than fly fishingFrom 23:00 hrs to 24:00 hrs on Dec. 31
3Spear fishingJan. 1 to Dec. 31
4Set lineJan. 1 to Dec. 31
GEAR
5A hook having more than one pointFrom 23:00 hrs to 24:00 hrs on Dec. 31
6Barbed hookFrom 23:00 hrs to 24:00 hrs on Dec. 31
7A hook having a single point greater than 15 mm from point to shankFrom 23:00 hrs to 24:00 hrs on Dec. 31
BAIT
8Natural baitFrom 23:00 hrs to 24:00 hrs on Dec. 31
9Dead fin fish other than roeJan. 1 to Dec. 31
10Live fin fish other than roeJan. 1 to Dec. 31
11A hook or an artificial lureFrom 23:00 hrs to 24:00 hrs on Dec. 31

 [Repealed, SOR/2022-70, s. 1]

 [Repealed, SOR/2022-70, s. 1]

 

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