CONSIDER CURRENT CONDITIONS
AVOID SMALL FISH
Change areas or gear (e.g., increase size of lures) when encountering large numbers of sub-legal fish. Smaller fish are more susceptible to injuries and mortality associated with release.
AVOID SEALS AND SEA LIONS
Marine mammal predators may remove fish from your lines, injure fishing during landing attempts, or capture post-release fish that have not fully recovered after release. Avoid fishing in locations where predators are present.
AVOID WARM WATERS
Fish released in surface waters 18 Degrees Celsius or higher may appear healthy, but the added thermal stress interacts with other handling/release factors and leads to a much higher probability of mortality.
LIMIT INTERACTIONS
Keep all fish you catch (that are legal to keep) and stop when you have reached the official limit. Continuing to fish after reaching the limit ensures you will be releasing your catch, risking mortality and harming the overall fish population.
READ THE RESEARCH
The Sport Fishing Institute of BC is working with researchers from the University of British Columbia to identify, formalize, and promote Best handling practices to help ensure the survivability of released fish including Chinook and Coho salmon. Please read the research reports for full information on these studies and findings.
Developed by the Sport Fishing Institute of BC and University of British Columbia
Supported by the British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund