Retention of Wild Coho Salmon
Effective September 14, 2021, anglers will be able to keep one hatchery coho and one wild coho per day up until the end of September in certain areas.
DFO sent out Fishery Notice FN0935 on September 14th. It says that in Areas 13, 14 and Subareas 15-2 to 15-6, between now and September 30th two coho per day may be retained, of which only one may be wild/unmarked.
The way to tell that a coho is a hatchery coho is to look at the adipose fin behind the dorsal, near the tail. A hatchery coho will have the adipose fin removed, and in its place will be a healed scar. This is the “mark”. In contrast, a wild coho will have an intact adipose fin.
On October 1 and through December 31, the coho limit stays the same (2 per day), but the regulation reverts back to only being able to keep hatchery/marked coho. Subarea 14-11 is the exception — here, anglers are allowed to keep one hatchery and one wild coho through til the end of December.
Minimum size limit for retention is 30cm.
