DFO Pacific Area 28 recreational fishing regulations
Current tidal-water recreational limits, sizes and closures for DFO Pacific Area 28 (Vancouver Harbour, Howe Sound), read from DFO’s own area page and refreshed daily. Last updated 2026-09-01. Openings change in-season and subarea boundaries are set by coordinates — always confirm on DFO before fishing.
Closures in effect today (September 16, 2026)
Seven closure areas are in effect. A closure overrides the area-wide limits wherever the two overlap.
- Night closure area — closed to crab - box, crab - dungeness, crab - red rock, crab - king, crab - puget sound king and crab - other (year round)
- Point Atkinson — closed to finfish and shellfish (year round)
- Porteau Cove — closed to finfish and shellfish (year round)
- Whytecliff Park — closed to finfish and shellfish (year round)
- Mannion Bay (Deep Bay) — closed to finfish (Sep 1 – Dec 31)
- Coastwide — closed to eulachon (no end date given)
- 28 — closed to smelt (Aug 16 – Mar 31)
Salmon — area-wide limits
| Species | Subareas | Min size | Daily | Status |
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| Chinook salmon (hatchery and wild combined) | 28 | 62cm | 2 | Open |
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| Chum salmon | 28 | 30cm | 2 | Open |
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| Coho salmon (hatchery and wild combined) | 28 | 30cm | 2 Combined Total * Consisting of no more than: 2 - Hatchery - marked; 0 - Wild - unmarked | Open |
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| Pink salmon | 28 | 30cm | 4 | Open |
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| Sockeye salmon | 28 | 30cm | 0 | Non Retention |
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Finfish other than salmon — area-wide limits
| Species | Subareas | Min size | Daily | Status |
|---|
| Codfish | 28-1 to 28-7,28-9 and 28-11 to 28-14 | | 8 | Open |
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| Codfish | 28-8,28-10 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Eulachon | 28 | | 0kg | Closed |
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| Finfish - all other species | 28 | | 20 | Open |
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| Greenling | 28-1 to 28-7,28-9 and 28-11 to 28-14 | | 3 | Open |
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| Greenling | 28-8,28-10 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Halibut | 28 | | 2 | Open |
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| Herring | 28-1 to 28-7,28-9 and 28-11 to 28-14 | | 20kg | Open |
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| Herring | 28-8,28-10 | | 0kg | Closed |
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| Lingcod | 28 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Mackerel | 28 | | 100 | Open |
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| Northern Anchovy | 28-1 to 28-7,28-9 and 28-11 to 28-14 | | 20kg | Open |
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| Northern Anchovy | 28-8,28-10 | | 0kg | Closed |
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| Pacific sand lance | 28-1 to 28-7,28-9 and 28-11 to 28-14 | | 5kg | Open |
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| Pacific sand lance | 28-8,28-10 | | 0kg | Closed |
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| Pacific sardine | 28 | | 100 | Open |
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| Rockfish - Yelloweye | 28 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Rockfish - all species except Yelloweye | 28 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Sablefish | 28 | | 4 | Open |
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| Sculpin | 28-1 to 28-7,28-9 and 28-11 to 28-14 | | 8 | Open |
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| Sculpin | 28-8,28-10 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Shark - Basking | 28 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Shark - Blue | 28 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Shark - Brown Cat | 28 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Shark - Great White | 28 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Shark - Salmon | 28 | | 1 | Open |
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| Shark - Sixgill | 28 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Shark - Tope | 28 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Shark - all other species | 28 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Skate | 28-1 to 28-7,28-9 and 28-11 to 28-14 | | 1 | Open |
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| Skate | 28-8,28-10 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Smelt | 28-1 to 28-7,28-9 and 28-11 to 28-14 | | 20kg | Open |
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| Smelt | 28-8,28-10 | | 0kg | Closed |
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| Sole or Flounder | 28-1 to 28-7,28-9 and 28-11 to 28-14 | | 8 | Open |
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| Sole or Flounder | 28-8,28-10 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Spiny Dogfish | 28 | | 0 | Non Retention |
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| Surfperch | 28-1 to 28-7,28-9 and 28-11 to 28-14 | | 8 | Open |
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| Surfperch | 28-8,28-10 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Tuna - Albacore | 28 | | 20 | Open |
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| Tuna - Pacific bluefin | 28 | | 20 | Open |
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| Tuna - all other species | 28 | | 20 | Open |
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| White Sturgeon | 28 | | 0 | Non Retention |
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| Wolf Eel | 28 | | 0 | Non Retention |
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| Trout (hatchery and wild combined) | 28 | 30cm | 2 Combined Total * Consisting of no more than: 2 - Hatchery - marked; 0 - Wild - unmarked | Open |
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Bivalve shellfish and snails — area-wide limits
| Species | Subareas | Min size | Daily | Status |
|---|
| Clam - Butter | 28 | | 0 | |
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| Clam - Horse | 28 | | 0 | |
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| Clam - Littleneck | 28 | | 0 | |
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| Clam - Manila | 28 | | 0 | |
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| Clam - Razor | 28 | | 0 | |
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| Clam - Softshell | 28 | | 0 | |
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| Clam - Varnish | 28 | | 0 | |
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| Clam - all species combined | 28 | | 0 | |
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| Cockles | 28 | | 0 | |
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| Geoduck | 28 | | 0 | |
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| Mussel - Blue | 28 | | 0 | |
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| Mussel - California | 28 | | 0 | |
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| Mussels - all species combined | 28 | | 0 | |
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| Oyster - Olympia | 28 | | 0 | |
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| Oyster - all species except Olympia | 28 | | 0 | |
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| Scallop - Pink and Spiny | 28 | | 0 | |
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| Scallop - Purple-hinged rock | 28 | | 0 | |
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| Scallop - Weathervane | 28 | | 0 | |
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| Scallop - Weathervane and Purple-hinged rock combined | 28 | | 0 | |
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| Snail - Moon | 28 | | 2 | |
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| Snail - other | 28 | | 0 | |
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| Whelks | 28 | | 0 | |
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Crab — area-wide limits
| Species | Subareas | Min size | Daily | Status |
|---|
| Crab - Box | 28-1 to 28-7,28-9 and 28-11 to 28-14 | | 1 | Open |
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| Crab - Box | 28-8,28-10 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Crab - Dungeness | 28-1 to 28-7,28-9 and 28-11 to 28-14 | 165mm | 4 | Open |
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| Crab - Dungeness | 28-8,28-10 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Crab - Dungeness and Red Rock combined | 28 | | 4 | Open |
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| Crab - King | 28 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Crab - Puget Sound King | 28-1 to 28-7,28-9 and 28-11 to 28-14 | | 1 | Open |
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| Crab - Puget Sound King | 28-8,28-10 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Crab - Red Rock | 28-1 to 28-7,28-9 and 28-11 to 28-14 | 115mm | 4 | Open |
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| Crab - Red Rock | 28-8,28-10 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Crab - Shore | 28 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Crab - other | 28-1 to 28-7,28-9 and 28-11 to 28-14 | | 4 | Open |
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| Crab - other | 28-8,28-10 | | 0 | Closed |
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Other invertebrates — area-wide limits
| Species | Subareas | Min size | Daily | Status |
|---|
| Abalone | 28 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Barnacles - Giant | 28 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Barnacles - Goose | 28 | | 2kg | Open |
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| Invertebrates - all other species | 28 | | 20 | Open |
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| Limpet | 28 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Octopus | 28 | | 1 | Open |
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| Sand Dollar | 28 | | 6 | Open |
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| Sea Cucumber | 28 | | 12 | Open |
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| Sea Star or Starfish | 28 | | 6 | Open |
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| Sea Urchin | 28 | | 12 | Open |
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| Shellfish - all other species | 28 | | 20 | Open |
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| Shrimp - Ghost | 28 | | 50 | Open |
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| Shrimp including prawn | 28-1 to 28-7,28-9 and 28-11 to 28-14 | | 125 | Open |
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| Shrimp including prawn | 28-8,28-10 | | 0 | Closed |
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| Squid - Opal | 28 | | 200 | Open |
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| Squid - all other species | 28 | | 20 | Open |
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Source: DFO Pacific Area 28 recreational fishing. Check the Fishery Notices for changes newer than the update date. This page is a reading of DFO’s page, not a substitute for it, and does not reproduce the coordinate-defined subarea boundaries.
Fishing areas in Area 28
All BC fishing areas and tide stations