Fishery Notice

This Fishery Notice supersedes FN0251 to announce an increase to daily limit for halibut measuring under 90 cm in length. The updated Fishery Notice reads as follows:

For 2022, the recreational Halibut fishery allocation is 1,011,750 pounds. The recreational Halibut fishery is actively managed to stay within sector's allocation and fishers should watch for subsequent Fishery Notices to announce potential in-season changes. 

The following measures are in effect coast-wide as noted below: 

Open time:
Effective at 00:01 hours February 1, 2022, fishing for Halibut was opened coast-wide until further notice (See 2022 Fishery Notice FN0067 and FN0251).

Effective 00:01 hours on August 20, 2022 until 23:59 hours on December 31, 2022:
The daily and possession limit for Halibut is EITHER of:

---one (1) Halibut measuring 90 cm to 133 cm in length (69 cm to 102 cm head-off),

OR

---three (3) Halibut, each measuring under 90 cm in length (69 cm head-off).

No person shall retain a Halibut greater than 133 cm head-on length (102 cm head-off). Head-off measurements are made from the base of the pectoral fin at its most forward point to the extreme end of the middle of the tail.
Annual Limit:
No person shall catch and retain more than ten (10) Halibut in the aggregate from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023.

Licensing:

The 2022/23 Tidal Waters Sport Fishing Licence and Conditions of Licence will be in effect from April 1, 2022 until March 31, 2023. 

All Halibut retained by the licence holder between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023 shall be immediately recorded on the 2022/2023 Tidal Waters Sport Fishing Licence, or, if mobile access is immediately available, the licence holder may record catch in the National Recreational Licensing System. The area from which each Halibut is caught and its head-on length shall immediately be recorded.

The exceptions to these openings are:
Areas 121: No person shall fish for or retain Halibut, rockfish and lingcod in Area 121 outside the 12 nautical mile limit seaward of a line that begins at 48 degrees 34.000 minutes and 125 degrees 17.386 minutes W and continues south easterly at a bearing of 116 degrees True to a point at 48 degrees 28.327 minutes and 125 degrees 01.687 minutes W.

Areas 121: Closed to all finfish, year round in the waters of Swiftsure Bank. Those portions of Subareas 121-1 and 121-2 inside a line that begins at 48 degrees 34.000 minutes N and 125 degrees 06.000 minutes W, then true east to 48 degrees 34.000 minutes N and 124 degrees 54.200 minutes W, then southeasterly to the International Boundary, outer perimeter at 48 degrees 29.618 minutes N and 124 degrees 43.553 minutes W, then westerly following the International Boundary perimeter to 48 degrees 29.605 minutes N and 124 degrees 56.190 minutes W, then northwesterly to the beginning point.

Rockfish Conservation Area (RCA) and Glass Sponge Reef (GSR) closures remain in effect - refer to the following web pages for descriptions:
1)RCAs- http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/restricted-restreint-eng.html#rca
2)GSRs- http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/restricted-restreint-eng.html#sponge

Variation Orders: 2022-RFQ-352 is in effect.


Anglers are reminded of the mandatory condition of licence for the release of rockfish; all anglers in vessels shall immediately return all rockfish that are not being retained to the water and to a similar depth from which they were caught by use of an inverted weighted barbless hook or other purpose-built descender device.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Greg Hornby (Regional Manager Recreational Fisheries) - Greg.Hornby@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Fisheries & Oceans Operations Center - FN0919
Sent August 19, 2022 at 1010

Return to Main Menu

Visit Fisheries and Oceans Canada on the Web at http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Printed from the Pacific Region web site on October 30, 2024 at 2251