Catchable

Learn / Lesson 4 of 6

Let it go the right way

Keep the fish in the water, wet your hands, and let it swim away on its own. Follow the gear rule on the card.

The official source wins. This page explains. The official pages at the bottom decide.

Why

  • Many fish you catch must go back: a fish that is too small, a wild salmon where only hatchery fish may be kept, or any fish in catch and release water.
  • A fast release at the water gives a fish its best chance. Time in the air, dry hands and a long fight make it harder for the fish to recover.
  • Rockfish brought up from deep water swell up and need help to get back down.

What to do

  1. Use the gear the card names. If it says barbless, crimp the barb flat or cut it off.

    Because barbless hooks make it easier to release a fish and cause less damage.

    DFO salmon fishing information

  2. Wet your hands before you touch the fish.

    Because the slime and scales protect the fish, and dry hands and hard, dry surfaces can damage them.

  3. Keep the fish in the water if you can. If you must use a net, use a soft knotless mesh net.

    Because a net can damage a fish's scales and fins, and soft knotless mesh does less harm.

  4. Take the hook out gently. If it is deep, cut the line close to the hook.

    Because pulling out a deep hook can do more harm, and the hook is likely to fall out by itself.

  5. If you are in a boat and catch a rockfish you will not keep, use a descending device to send it back down.

    Because it is a condition of licence for anglers in vessels, and it returns the fish to a similar depth to where it was caught.

    DFO finfish fishing information

A hand under a fish held in the water. Wet hands, fish in the water, moved gently until it swims away.
Wet hands, fish in the water, moved gently until it swims away.

The official words

In short, in our words

DFO sets the gear and release rules for salt water, such as barbless hooks. The Province sets them for lakes and rivers. Rockfish conservation areas have rules of their own.

Last checked against the pages above on . The salmon page says it was last modified on , the finfish page on , the release survival page on , the rockfish page on and the restricted areas page on . The Province of BC page says it was last updated on .

Try it in Catchable

When a card says NON-RETENTION, DFO's word for catch and release, you may fish, but the fish goes back. Open Gear on the same card for the gear rule.

Catchable card for subarea 28-11 showing coho salmon with the word NON-RETENTION and a daily limit of 0.

Subarea 28-11

Coho salmon Catch and release

NON-RETENTION means catch and release: you may fish, but every coho here goes back.

Captured in Catchable on . Map: Esri, USGS, NOAA, and OpenStreetMap contributors.

Open the map

Where do I let a fish go? Back where you caught it. DFO says the law requires a released fish to go back in a way that causes the least possible harm.