Fishery Notice

New features in Fisheries and Oceans Canada's National Recreational Licensing System (NRLS), and in the Sport Fishing Institute of British Columbia (SFI) FishingBC App, now allow recreational fishers in tidal waters in British Columbia to download an electronic copy of their tidal water sport fishing licence from NRLS to the fisher's account in the FishingBC App held on the fisher's mobile device (for both Apple and Android devices). In addition, catch records for Chinook salmon, halibut, and lingcod (in specified areas), may be recorded to the FishingBC App's Catch Log and these will automatically update to the electronic licence (as required by regulation) held in the FishingBC App, as well as immediately to NRLS when the mobile device has an internet connection. This means that fishers may now use the electronic NRLS licence and catch records held on a mobile device which may be presented for inspection in place of a paper licence.
 
Linking from the FishingBC App to NRLS is completely voluntary, is consent-based, and may be cancelled at any time by the app user. App users, once linked, must continue to maintain the link to NRLS in order to use the app functionality to present their licence and catch record. If unlinked, the app user is then responsible to use an NRLS-issued paper licence for catch recording and presentation purposes, or may record catch directly to NRLS (requiring their mobile device to have an internet connection from their immediate location).
 
Note that for linked users, these catch records are also uploaded automatically from the fisher's FishingBC App account to their NRLS account; there's nothing else for fishers to do. If records can't be transferred immediately (if, for example, the fisher is out of cell data service range), catch records in the app will still be shown on the licence and available for immediate inspection, and they'll upload to NRLS automatically as soon as the fisher is back in cell data service range.
 
Once again, this initiative is completely voluntary; non-users of the app, and app users preferring not to link their accounts to NRLS, must continue to use the NRLS-issued paper licence as previously to record catch, or if not harvesting Chinook salmon, halibut and lingcod in specified areas, may use a paper licence, or an NRLS-issued electronic licence held on their mobile device, whether held in an app account or otherwise.
 
Further information is available at https://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/licence-permis/fishingbc-pechecb-app-faq-eng.html 
 
Funding for this collaborative project between Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Sport Fishing Institute of British Columbia has been made available from the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI); more details on the PSSI here https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/campaign-campagne/pss-ssp/index-eng.html
 
Technical support is also available; please contact us for assistance with NRLS, or the SFI for assistance with the FishingBC App.
 
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Pacific Recreational Licensing Unit
Telephone: 1-877-535-7307
Email: fishing-peche@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
 
Sport Fishing Institute of British Columbia
FishingBC mobile application support
Email: support@sportfishingbc.ca

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Greg Hornby Regional Manager Recreational Fisheries (Pacific Region)
Fisheries & Oceans Canada
Greg.Hornby@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Fisheries & Oceans Operations Center - FN0294
Sent March 25, 2024 at 1410

Return to Main Menu

Visit Fisheries and Oceans Canada on the Web at http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Printed from the Pacific Region web site on May 9, 2024 at 0330