Fishery Notice – Fisheries and Oceans Canada Subject: FN0288-RECREATIONAL – Salmon – Chinook Management Measures – Areas 11 to 20, 111, and Subareas 29-1 to 29-5 – Effective April 1, 2024 This Fishery Notice provides the recreational fishery management measures to provide protection for at-risk Fraser River Chinook stocks in Areas 11 to 20, 111, and Subareas 29-1 to 29-5. The measures to start the 2024 fishing season (beginning April 1, 2024) are the same measures that were in place at the beginning of last season. Effective 00:01 hours April 1, 2024, until further notice, the daily limit for Chinook is zero (0) per day. These measures apply in the following waters: Area 12 (excluding Subarea 12-14); Areas 13 to 17, and Subareas 29-1 to 29-2. For clarity, in Areas 11 and 111, and Subarea 12-14, the daily limit of Chinook remains two (2) per day, marked or unmarked, with a minimum size of 45 cm. Effective 00:01 hours April 1, 2024, until further notice, the daily limit for Chinook is zero (0) per day. These measures apply in the following waters: Area 18, Subareas 19-1, 19-3 to 19-12, 20-3 to 20-7, and Subareas 29-3 to 29-5. Reminder: Subarea 19-2 (Esquimalt Harbour) is closed to all fishing. Effective 00:01 hours April 1, 2024, until further notice, no fishing for Chinook. These measures apply in the following waters: Those portions of Subareas 29-3 to 29-5 that lie east of a line from Gower Point (49 23.021’N, 123 32.166′ W) near Gibsons to Shah Point on the southern tip of Valdes Island (49 01.695’N, 123 35.721’W): Effective 00:01 hours April 1, 2024, until further notice, the daily limit for Chinook is zero (0) per day. These measures apply in the following waters: Subareas 20-1 and 20-2 A subsequent Fishery Notice will be released detailing Chinook mark-selective fishery opportunities beginning April 1, 2024. Variation Order: 2024-RFQ-117 NOTES AND REMINDERS: Barbless hooks are required when fishing for salmon in tidal and non-tidal waters of British Columbia. The term “marked”, “hatchery marked”, or “adipose fin clipped” means a fish that has a healed scar in place of the adipose fin. All anglers must have a licence to fish in tidal waters in BC. Apply for your BC tidal waters recreational fishing licence and salmon conservation stamp at: https://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/licence-permis/index-eng.html. Anglers are advised to check http://bcsportfishguide.ca for fishing closures and other recreational fishing information. Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs) are currently in effect and are closed to all fin-fishing. Descriptions of RCAs and other closures such as finfish closed areas, salmon non-retention areas, and other recreational fishing information, can be found on the internet at: https://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/index-eng.htmlhttps://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/index-eng.html Fishers are encouraged to participate in the Salmon Sport Head Recovery program by labelling and submitting heads from hatchery marked Chinook and Coho Salmon to head depots. The head-off measurement can be used by enforcement officers to assess compliance on size limits if you remove the head from Chinook or Coho. Recovery of microscopic coded-wire tags found inside hatchery marked Chinook and Coho heads provide critical information for coast-wide Salmon stock assessment programs. Contact the Salmon Sport Head Recovery Program toll free at 1-866-483-9994 for further information.
