Tidal Area 23TidalDFO, federal

Port Alberni, Bamfield, Ucluelet

As of Sep 21, 2026, no active Fishery Notice overrides beyond salmon in this zone.

The current rule for salmon in this zone is merged from DFO's baseline regulations and any active Fishery Notice. Halibut, rockfish, lingcod, and crab below show the baseline regulation, plus any notice that names them.

You need a licence before you fishSaltwater / tidal waters (salmon, halibut, rockfish, crab, prawn): get a BC Tidal Waters sport fishing licence (DFO).

Area 23 on the map

Where this area sits on the coast, and its subareas. Pick a species to colour the map by its current status -- open, closed, or non-retention -- across the area, and by subarea where the rules break it down.

Chinook salmon: open across the whole area.
Open Non retention Closed See notice No rule on record

Salmon, right now

Sockeye salmonopen

Sockeye salmon is open in 23 (daily limit 4, minimum size 30cm, barbless hook and line required); catch-and-release only (non-retention) in 123. A recent Fishery Notice (FN0723-RECREATIONAL, issued July 15, 2026 at 1534) may change this in-season -- check it before you fish.

From a Fishery Notice, effective July 15, 2026 at 1534 · view source

Chum salmonopen

Chum salmon is catch-and-release only (non-retention) in 23; open in 123 (daily limit 2, minimum size 30cm, barbless hook and line required). A recent Fishery Notice (FN0723-RECREATIONAL, issued July 15, 2026 at 1534) may change this in-season -- check it before you fish.

From a Fishery Notice, effective July 15, 2026 at 1534 · view source

Coho salmonopen

Coho salmon is open in 23-1 to 23-3 (daily limit 4 Combined Total, minimum size 30cm, barbless hook and line required); open in 23-4 to 23-11 (daily limit 2 Combined Total, minimum size 30cm, barbless hook and line required); open in 123 (daily limit 2 Combined Total, minimum size 30cm, barbless hook and line required). A recent Fishery Notice (FN0723-RECREATIONAL, issued July 15, 2026 at 1534) may change this in-season -- check it before you fish.

From a Fishery Notice, effective July 15, 2026 at 1534 · view source

Pink salmonopen

Pink salmon is catch-and-release only (non-retention) in 23; open in 123 (daily limit 4, minimum size 30cm, barbless hook and line required). A recent Fishery Notice (FN0723-RECREATIONAL, issued July 15, 2026 at 1534) may change this in-season -- check it before you fish.

From a Fishery Notice, effective July 15, 2026 at 1534 · view source

Chinook salmonopen

Chinook salmon is open in 23,123 (daily limit 2, minimum size 45cm, barbless hook and line required). A recent Fishery Notice (FN0723-RECREATIONAL, issued July 15, 2026 at 1534) may change this in-season -- check it before you fish.

From a Fishery Notice, effective July 15, 2026 at 1534 · view source

Full baseline regulation table

Every species scraped for this zone, with its baseline rule and source. Salmon above already reflects any active Fishery Notice; everything here is the standing baseline.

51 total
SpeciesSubareaMin sizeGearDaily limitStatusSource
Chinook salmon23,12345cmbarbless hook and line2OpenSep 21, 2026 · view source
Chum salmon12330cmbarbless hook and line2OpenSep 21, 2026 · view source
Chum salmon2330cmbarbless hook and line0Non RetentionSep 21, 2026 · view source
Coho salmon12330cmbarbless hook and line2 Combined Total * Consisting of no more than: 2 - Hatchery - marked 0 - Wild - unmarkedOpenSep 21, 2026 · view source
Coho salmon23-1 to 23-330cmbarbless hook and line4 Combined Total * Consisting of no more than: 4 - Hatchery - marked 1 - Wild - unmarkedOpenSep 21, 2026 · view source
Coho salmon23-4 to 23-1130cmbarbless hook and line2 Combined Total * Consisting of no more than: 2 - Hatchery - marked 1 - Wild - unmarkedOpenSep 21, 2026 · view source
This is a plain-language summary, not the regulation itself. Always confirm at the source link before you fish. Rules can change without notice.

Restrictions & gear rules

185 total
SpeciesWhereTypeDetail
GeneralNumukamis BayClosedany gear or method (Aug 1 to Sep 30)
GeneralPaper Mill Dam Pool ClosureClosed(May 1 to Sep 30)
GeneralTidal Portion of Somass River and Portion of Alberni HarbourClosedFrom 22:00 h until 05:00 h only - (year round )
GeneralTidal Portion of Somass River and Portion of Alberni HarbourClosedany gear or method (Jul 24 to Sep 30)
GeneralToquart BayClosedany gear or method (Aug 1 to Sep 30)

Notices mentioning this zone

All notices →
FN0884-RECREATIONAL·Issued August 19, 2026 at 1519

FN0884-RECREATIONAL - Shellfish - Prawn and Shrimp - Areas 17, 19, 23 closures

FN0723-RECREATIONAL·Issued July 15, 2026 at 1534

FN0723-RECREATIONAL Salmon - All salmon - Areas 1 to 29, 101 to 111, 121, 123 to 127, 130 and 142 - Coastwide tidal water gear requirements - Effective September 1, 2026

FN0672-R·Issued July 8, 2026 at 1100

FN0672-Recreational - Salmon - Southwest Vancouver Island - Areas 21 to 24, 121, and 123 to 124 - West Coast Vancouver Island Chinook Management Measures - effective July 15, 2026

Get told when this changes

We check the government sources every hour. When a rule changes or a Fishery Notice lands for Area 23, you get one email.

We email to confirm before anything else, and every email has a one-click unsubscribe. Alerts point at the live page; they are never the rule themselves.

Related

See something wrong?

Rules change in-season and we'd rather hear it from you than have someone fish on bad information. Tell us what looks off and we'll check it against the source.