Fishery Notice

This Fishery Notice supersedes FN0198 to announce an increase to the daily limit for halibut. 

For 2026, the recreational halibut fishery allocation is 633,750 pounds. The recreational halibut fishery is actively managed to stay within the sector's allocation and current catches are tracking below expectations. Fishers should watch for subsequent Fishery Notices announcing any further potential in-season changes. 

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

Open time:

Effective at 00:01 hours April 1, 2026, fishing for Halibut was opened coast-wide until further notice (See 2026 Fishery Notice FN0198).

Effective 00:01 hours on September 1, 2026 until 23:59 hours on December 31, 2026:

The daily limit will be two (2) halibut per day.

The possession limit is equal to the daily limit. 

No person shall retain a Halibut greater than 112 cm head-on length (85 cm pectoral length (head-off)).

Pectoral length (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, 2026 to March 31, 2027.

Licensing:

The 2026/27 Tidal Waters Sport Fishing Licence and Conditions of Licence will be in effect from April 1, 2026 until March 31, 2027. 

All Halibut retained by the licence holder between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027 shall be immediately recorded on the 2026/2027 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

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.

Variation Order: 2026-RFQ-373 in effect. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please contact the nearest Fisheries and Oceans Canada office or visit our website at http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Fisheries & Oceans Operations Center - FN0927
Sent August 28, 2026 at 1005

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Visit Fisheries and Oceans Canada on the Web at http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Printed from the Pacific Region web site on September 21, 2026 at 0616