Unlawful Actions
It is illegal to:
• fish for finfish and/or shellfish without a licence.
• catch and retain salmon if your licence does not have a valid salmon
conservation stamp attached to it.
• wilfully foul hook or attempt to foul hook any fish other than herring,
northern anchovy, Pacific sand lance and squid.
• possess more than your daily and/or possession limit.
• fish for salmon, cutthroat trout and steelhead with a barbed hook.
• angle in a Rockfish Conservation Area (RCA). See page 7 for more
information on RCAs.
• use spears to fish for salmon, trout, char, sturgeon and shellfish, except
shrimp.
• fish with 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 means of an automatic release clip.
• leave a fishing line unattended in the water.
• use explosives or chemicals to molest, injure or kill fish.
• use gaff hooks in angling except as an aid to landing a fish caught on a
legal line or rod and reel.
• use torches or artificial lights while sport fishing, except when they are
submerged and attached to a fishing line, within 1 m of the fishing hook.
• catch or attempt to catch any fish with snares.
• trap or pen fish on their spawning ground, or in rivers or streams
leading to spawning grounds.
• buy, sell, barter or attempt to buy, sell or barter any fish caught by sport
fishing.
• possess any fish caught while sport fishing that is dressed or packed in a
manner so that the species cannot be easily identified, measured where
size limits are applicable, is of hatchery origin where hatchery salmon
are allowed, and the number of fish readily counted where quotas are
applicable. This includes removing the carapace, or shell, from any crab.
• field-can any fish outside of a person’s ordinary residence, other than at
a registered licensed facility.
Penalties for contravention of the British Columbia Sport Fishing
Regulations include ticket payments up to $1,000 for each offence
and possible seizure and forfeiture of fishing gear and catch, or
court-imposed fines up to $100,000 on first offence.