DFO Pacific Area 4 recreational fishing regulations
Current tidal-water recreational limits, sizes and closures for DFO Pacific Area 4, read from DFO’s own area page and refreshed daily. Last updated 2026-09-02. Openings change in-season and subarea boundaries are set by coordinates — always confirm on DFO before fishing.
Closures in effect today (September 16, 2026)
Two closure areas are in effect. A closure overrides the area-wide limits wherever the two overlap.
- Coastwide — closed to eulachon (no end date given)
- Porpoise Harbour and Wainwright Basin Crab Closed Area — closed to crab (no end date given)
Salmon — area-wide limits
| Species | Subareas | Min size | Daily | Status |
|---|
| Chinook salmon (hatchery and wild combined) | 4,104 | 45cm | 2 | Open |
|---|
| Chum salmon | 4 | 30cm | 0 | Non Retention |
|---|
| Chum salmon | 104 | 30cm | 4 | Open |
|---|
| Coho salmon (hatchery and wild combined) | 4,104 | 30cm | 4 | Open |
|---|
| Pink salmon | 4,104 | 30cm | 4 | Open |
|---|
| Sockeye salmon | 4 | 30cm | 0 | Non Retention |
|---|
| Sockeye salmon | 104 | 30cm | 4 | Open |
|---|
Finfish other than salmon — area-wide limits
| Species | Subareas | Min size | Daily | Status |
|---|
| Codfish | 4,104 | | 8 | Open |
|---|
| Eulachon | 4,104 | | 0kg | Closed |
|---|
| Finfish - all other species | 4,104 | | 20 | Open |
|---|
| Greenling | 4,104 | | 3 | Open |
|---|
| Halibut | 4,104 | | 2 | Open |
|---|
| Herring | 4,104 | | 20kg | Open |
|---|
| Lingcod | 4,104 | 65cm | 3 | Open |
|---|
| Mackerel | 4,104 | | 100 | Open |
|---|
| Northern Anchovy | 4,104 | | 20kg | Open |
|---|
| Pacific sand lance | 4,104 | | 5kg | Open |
|---|
| Pacific sardine | 4,104 | | 100 | Open |
|---|
| Rockfish - Yelloweye | 4,104 | | 0 | Non Retention |
|---|
| Rockfish - all species except Yelloweye | 4,104 | | 3 | Open |
|---|
| Sablefish | 4,104 | | 4 | Open |
|---|
| Sculpin | 4,104 | | 8 | Open |
|---|
| Shark - Basking | 4,104 | | 0 | Closed |
|---|
| Shark - Blue | 4,104 | | 0 | Closed |
|---|
| Shark - Brown Cat | 4,104 | | 0 | Closed |
|---|
| Shark - Great White | 4,104 | | 0 | Closed |
|---|
| Shark - Salmon | 4,104 | | 1 | Open |
|---|
| Shark - Sixgill | 4,104 | | 0 | Closed |
|---|
| Shark - Tope | 4,104 | | 0 | Closed |
|---|
| Shark - all other species | 4,104 | | 0 | Closed |
|---|
| Skate | 4,104 | | 1 | Open |
|---|
| Smelt | 4,104 | | 20kg | Open |
|---|
| Sole or Flounder | 4,104 | | 8 | Open |
|---|
| Spiny Dogfish | 4,104 | | 0 | Non Retention |
|---|
| Surfperch | 4,104 | | 8 | Open |
|---|
| Tuna - Albacore | 4,104 | | 20 | Open |
|---|
| Tuna - Pacific bluefin | 4,104 | | 20 | Open |
|---|
| Tuna - all other species | 4,104 | | 20 | Open |
|---|
| White Sturgeon | 4,104 | | 0 | Non Retention |
|---|
| Wolf Eel | 4,104 | | 0 | Non Retention |
|---|
| Trout (hatchery and wild combined) | 4,104 | 30cm | 2 Combined Total * Consisting of no more than: 2 - Hatchery - marked 50cm or less; 1 - Hatchery - marked over 50cm; 2 - Wild - unmarked 50cm or less; 0 - Wild - unmarked over 50cm | Open |
|---|
Bivalve shellfish and snails — area-wide limits
| Species | Subareas | Min size | Daily | Status |
|---|
| Clam - Butter | 4,104 | | 0 | |
|---|
| Clam - Horse | 4,104 | | 0 | |
|---|
| Clam - Littleneck | 4,104 | | 0 | |
|---|
| Clam - Manila | 4,104 | | 0 | |
|---|
| Clam - Razor | 4,104 | | 0 | |
|---|
| Clam - Softshell | 4,104 | | 0 | |
|---|
| Clam - Varnish | 4,104 | | 0 | |
|---|
| Clam - all species combined | 4,104 | | 0 | |
|---|
| Cockles | 4,104 | | 0 | |
|---|
| Geoduck | 4,104 | | 0 | |
|---|
| Mussel - Blue | 4,104 | | 0 | |
|---|
| Mussel - California | 4,104 | | 0 | |
|---|
| Mussels - all species combined | 4,104 | | 0 | |
|---|
| Oyster - Olympia | 4,104 | | 0 | |
|---|
| Oyster - all species except Olympia | 4,104 | | 0 | |
|---|
| Scallop - Pink and Spiny | 4,104 | | 0 | |
|---|
| Scallop - Purple-hinged rock | 4,104 | | 0 | |
|---|
| Scallop - Weathervane | 4,104 | | 0 | |
|---|
| Scallop - Weathervane and Purple-hinged rock combined | 4,104 | | 0 | |
|---|
| Snail - Moon | 4,104 | | 2 | |
|---|
| Snail - other | 4,104 | | 75 | |
|---|
| Whelks | 4,104 | | 75 | |
|---|
Crab — area-wide limits
| Species | Subareas | Min size | Daily | Status |
|---|
| Crab - Box | 4,104 | | 1 | Open |
|---|
| Crab - Dungeness | 4,104 | 165mm | 6 | Open |
|---|
| Crab - Dungeness, Red Rock and King combined | 4,104 | | 6 | Open |
|---|
| Crab - King | 4,104 | | 2 | Open |
|---|
| Crab - Puget Sound King | 4,104 | | 1 | Open |
|---|
| Crab - Red Rock | 4,104 | 115mm | 6 | Open |
|---|
| Crab - Shore | 4,104 | | 25 | Open |
|---|
| Crab - other | 4,104 | | 4 | Open |
|---|
Other invertebrates — area-wide limits
| Species | Subareas | Min size | Daily | Status |
|---|
| Abalone | 4,104 | | 0 | Closed |
|---|
| Barnacles - Giant | 4,104 | | 6 | Open |
|---|
| Barnacles - Goose | 4,104 | | 2kg | Open |
|---|
| Invertebrates - all other species | 4,104 | | 20 | Open |
|---|
| Limpet | 4,104 | | 75 | Open |
|---|
| Octopus | 4,104 | | 1 | Open |
|---|
| Sand Dollar | 4,104 | | 6 | Open |
|---|
| Sea Cucumber | 4,104 | | 12 | Open |
|---|
| Sea Star or Starfish | 4,104 | | 6 | Open |
|---|
| Sea Urchin | 4,104 | | 12 | Open |
|---|
| Shellfish - all other species | 4,104 | | 20 | Open |
|---|
| Shrimp - Ghost | 4,104 | | 50 | Open |
|---|
| Shrimp including prawn | 4,104 | | 125 | Open |
|---|
| Squid - Opal | 4,104 | | 200 | Open |
|---|
| Squid - all other species | 4,104 | | 20 | Open |
|---|
Source: DFO Pacific Area 4 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.
All BC fishing areas and tide stations