Rockfish fishing in British Columbia

Rockfish are dozens of long-lived reef species - yelloweye alone can live past 100 years - which is why they are managed carefully: yelloweye carry their own separate limit, and Rockfish Conservation Areas close many reefs to all bottom fishing. Because they suffer barotrauma when brought up from depth, a descending device is required to release them. The per-area limits and sizes are below; the RCA boundaries are on the DFO pages the table links to.

Rockfish closures in effect today (September 16, 2026)

40 closures affecting Rockfish are in effect. A closure overrides the area-wide limit wherever the two overlap.

… and 30 more — see the area pages linked below.

Rockfish limits and size by DFO area

Recreational tidal-water limits for Rockfish, by DFO Pacific area. An area can list more than one row where the rules split by species group or subarea — read the Species column so a 0 (non-retention) is never mistaken for the neighbouring row. Confirm on the DFO page before fishing.
AreaSpeciesSubareasMin sizeDaily limitStatus
Area 1Rockfish - Yelloweye1,1010Non Retention
Rockfish - all species except Yelloweye1,1013Open
Area 2Rockfish - Yelloweye2,102,130,1420Non Retention
Rockfish - all species except Yelloweye2,102,130,1423Open
Area 4Rockfish - Yelloweye4,1040Non Retention
Rockfish - all species except Yelloweye4,1043Open
Area 7Rockfish - Yelloweye7,1070Non Retention
Rockfish - all species except Yelloweye7,1073Open
Area 8Rockfish - Yelloweye8,1080Non Retention
Rockfish - all species except Yelloweye8,1083Open
Area 13Rockfish - Yelloweye130Non Retention
Rockfish - all species except Yelloweye131Open
Area 14Rockfish - Yelloweye140Non Retention
Rockfish - all species except Yelloweye141Open
Area 15Rockfish - Yelloweye150Non Retention
Rockfish - all species except Yelloweye151Open
Area 16Rockfish - Yelloweye160Non Retention
Rockfish - all species except Yelloweye161Open
Area 17Rockfish - Yelloweye170Non Retention
Rockfish - all species except Yelloweye171Open
Area 18Rockfish - Yelloweye180Non Retention
Rockfish - all species except Yelloweye181Open
Area 19Rockfish - Yelloweye190Non Retention
Rockfish - all species except Yelloweye191Open
Area 20Rockfish - Yelloweye200Non Retention
Rockfish - all species except Yelloweye20-1 to 20-43Open
Rockfish - all species except Yelloweye20-5 to 20-71Open
Area 23Rockfish - Yelloweye23,1230Non Retention
Rockfish - all species except Yelloweye23,1233Open
Area 24Rockfish - Yelloweye24,1240Non Retention
Rockfish - all species except Yelloweye24,1243Open
Area 28Rockfish - Yelloweye280Closed
Rockfish - all species except Yelloweye280Closed
Area 29Rockfish - Yelloweye290Non Retention
Rockfish - all species except Yelloweye29-1 to 29-4 and 29-6 to 29-170Closed
Rockfish - all species except Yelloweye29-51Open

Read from DFO’s per-area recreational fishing pages and refreshed daily. Openings change in-season and subarea boundaries are set by coordinates, so this is a reading of DFO’s pages, not a substitute for them. Check the Fishery Notices for changes newer than the update dates, and always confirm on DFO before fishing.

Plan a Rockfish trip

Pick calm water first: see which areas are fishable tomorrow or this weekend, or open any fishing area for its live wind, waves, tides and hourly fishing score. The full rules for a place are on its area regulations page.

Other species