BC sport fishing: crab, traps, hooks

Summary#

The Regulations Amending the British Columbia Sport Fishing Regulations, 1996: SOR/2024-134 add new rules for recreational fishing in British Columbia tidal waters. Key changes — including bans on possessing female crabs, a ban on barbed hooks in the tidal portion of the Fraser River, and new trap and buoy requirements — came into force on June 17, 2024.

What it does#

• Prohibits possession of female Dungeness, Red Rock and King Crab.
• Bans fishing with a barbed hook in the tidal portion of the Fraser River.
• Requires biodegradable “rot cord” (so the gear will break down if lost) in recreational shrimp and octopus traps that have netting.
• Requires that buoy lines or ropes attached to recreational traps be submerged or weighted so they do not float on the surface.
• Requires tags, floats or buoys on recreational crab, shrimp and octopus traps to show the operator’s name and a telephone number.
• Strengthens trap construction rules to include escape openings made with untreated cotton twine that will break down (specific opening sizes are set in the regulation).
• Updates several sections so trap marking, boating-safety and escape-panel requirements are clearer and enforceable.

Who's affected#

• Recreational fishers in British Columbia, especially those who hold a tidal water sport fishing licence and use traps or fish in the tidal Fraser River.
• Guides, lodges and businesses that serve recreational fishers (they may need to tell clients about the new rules).
• Boaters and swimmers (safety benefits from submerged buoy lines).
• Fisheries enforcement officers (the rules move some long-standing licence conditions into regulation, which allows enforcement as offences).
• The amendments do not change rights for Indigenous harvesters fishing under communal licences, according to the source.

Why it matters#

• Conservation: Banning possession of female crabs helps protect breeding populations of Dungeness, Red Rock and King Crab.
• Species protection: Requiring barbless hooks in tidal parts of the Fraser River aims to reduce post-release deaths of sensitive fish like White Sturgeon.
• Reduced “ghost fishing”: Rot cord makes lost traps stop catching animals over time.
• Safety: Submerged buoy lines lower the risk of entanglement for swimmers and damage or accidents for boats.
• Enforcement and compliance: Moving long-standing licence conditions into regulation makes them easier to enforce and allows tickets to be used later.
• Costs: The government estimates one-time costs to recreational fishers to modify or replace gear at a present-value total of about $2.59 million (over a 10-year period), broken down roughly as $2.30 million for rot-cord changes and $0.29 million for sinking buoy lines. Typical per-fisher estimates cited include about $40 to retrofit a trap, $111 to replace an incompatible trap, and about $22 to add a weight to a buoy line. The regulations affect an estimated 340,788 tidal water sport licence holders (with varying estimates of how many actively trap fish: 93,704 to 170,394, and shrimp fishers 31,823 to 52,658).