For area 121 the regs read
"Effective Feb. 1, 2014 to Dec. 31, 2014, no person shall fish for or retain halibut, rockfish and lingcod in Area 121 outside the 12 nautical mile limit seaward of a line that begins at 48°34.00’N and 125°17.386’W and continues south easterly at a bearing of 116° True to a point at 48°28.327’N and 125°01.687’W."
So it's clear I cannot fish for or retain bottom fish farther than the 12 nm limit but what about possessing them? E.g. suppose I fish Swiftsure (outside of the RCA of course) in the AM and catch a halibut. Then I want to fish outside of the 12nm line for salmon. I possess the hali but I'm neither fishing for nor retaining bottom fish outside of the 12nm line. Is this legal?
On the US side we are not allowed to fish for OR POSSESS bottom fish seaward of 20 fathoms (with the exception those few days we get to fish for halibut). The logic is that if you possess bottom fish outside of those limits, it's impossible for enforcement to tell that you've caught them inside. I can relate to that. If I fish for salmon nearshore and I know I may have to go offshore later on, this regulation necessitates that I release all rockfish and lingcod until it's clear that I'm not going offshore. Alternatively, if I want to fish for both salmon and rockfish/ling cod, it typically means that I get my salmon first offshore and then come in to fish for bottom fish as the reverse order is illegal.
I've scoured the BC regs and I can't find a similar rule unless one construes "retain" to mean retain OR possess.
"Effective Feb. 1, 2014 to Dec. 31, 2014, no person shall fish for or retain halibut, rockfish and lingcod in Area 121 outside the 12 nautical mile limit seaward of a line that begins at 48°34.00’N and 125°17.386’W and continues south easterly at a bearing of 116° True to a point at 48°28.327’N and 125°01.687’W."
So it's clear I cannot fish for or retain bottom fish farther than the 12 nm limit but what about possessing them? E.g. suppose I fish Swiftsure (outside of the RCA of course) in the AM and catch a halibut. Then I want to fish outside of the 12nm line for salmon. I possess the hali but I'm neither fishing for nor retaining bottom fish outside of the 12nm line. Is this legal?
On the US side we are not allowed to fish for OR POSSESS bottom fish seaward of 20 fathoms (with the exception those few days we get to fish for halibut). The logic is that if you possess bottom fish outside of those limits, it's impossible for enforcement to tell that you've caught them inside. I can relate to that. If I fish for salmon nearshore and I know I may have to go offshore later on, this regulation necessitates that I release all rockfish and lingcod until it's clear that I'm not going offshore. Alternatively, if I want to fish for both salmon and rockfish/ling cod, it typically means that I get my salmon first offshore and then come in to fish for bottom fish as the reverse order is illegal.
I've scoured the BC regs and I can't find a similar rule unless one construes "retain" to mean retain OR possess.
