Tidal Fishing Regulations

When it comes to harvesting wildlife in BC it ls always good practice to refer to the official channels for your most up to date regulations, limits, and closures. While apps like Fishing BC do a good job of making all the info accessible and user friendly, that might not hold up if you find yourself talking to DFO and there is a discrepancy. 

The tidal fishing regulations do not have an official synopsis like the freshwater regulations, so it's important that you always check your area maps and the species table on the DFO website to make sure your catch is legal. Note that if you're on your smartphone you will need to turn your phone sideways in order to see the whole table to view species, limits, restrictions & closures.

Fresh Water Fishing Synopsis

I'm probably starting to sound like a broken record here, but always use the Official Synopsis to make sure there is no chance of losing your catch, facing fines, or inadvertently harvesting a closed or protected species. 

Inland fishing uses the same Wildlife Management Units as you would for Hunting and trapping, which is of course displayed on Top Notch Wilderness Pro.

Navigation Charts & Depths for Desktop

There's several places to look up charts and navigation for on the water, I use a couple myself. 
While I'm on my desktop computer and am just browsing around, the best free resource I have found is i-Boating. It's free, intuitive, and shows everything I need for browsing from home. One of the map features I use the most is the composition of the ocean floor. Often in our waters a sandy bottom isn't the best for harboring biodiversity, so knowing what I'm in for beforehand helps guide my decision for where to go. 

Navigation Charts & Depths for Mobile

Navionics is a great tool for mobile charts and depths. It uses your devices internal GPS for geolocation and can cache data to take offline. It also shows tide data, fishing closures, and lots of other user submitted data. It is a subscription based service, but it is well worth it if you spend a lot of time on the water. But if you don't stray into unfamiliar territory very frequently, the i-Boating webmap may be enough for your needs.

Shellfish Biotoxin and Sanitary Closures

Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) is no joke. The Biotoxin and Sanitary Contamination Closures Web Map is a tool for public health officials and members of the public to view shellfish harvesting area data in a spatial format. The British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) has created this Map to present information from Fisheries and Oceans Canada in a more user friendly manner.

Many species, like rock scallops, are closed year round simply due to lack of testing resources so it is easier for the authorities to have a blanket closure. Put simply, roll the dice at your own risk.

Freediving Safety

Freediving has been growing in popularity on BC's coast, and although the risks might seem intuitive there are definitely some things a beginner will not have considered. Just about anybody can buy a wetsuit, snorkel, and fins and jump in the water. And just about anybody can have a shallow water blackout and drown, at any time. It happens to beginners as well as professionals, so it's important to understand some fundamentals of what happens to your body while you're depriving it of oxygen.

The best resource around for beginners is Ted Harty's free course on the real risks of freediving and how to mitigate those risks. This course is a series of 2-10 minute videos going over things like common misconceptions like hyperventilating, spotting a underwater blackout, recovery breathing, and other diving safety principles. Once you have the safety component down, Ted's page also has several other courses to expand your knowledge around the sport. 

Spearfishing Gear

I have been a spearo for a few years now, and given the sport is still quite niche it can be difficult to get started and find the right information. I found myself doing things the hard way for quite some time, spending money on new gear just to find out it wasn't the right tool for the job. I didn't mind learning by doing until it came to having a bunch of gear I had no use for, or even worse realizing you forgot a crucial piece of equipment. Once again, Ted Harty to the rescue. On his website he's posted a PDF of his spearfishing checklist to make sure your trip doesn't get cut short.

Spearfishing Checklist

Spearfishing Tips, Tricks, and Etiquette

Chris Samson is a local freediver and spearfisherman, and runs a great YouTube channel called PNW Samson. He promotes ethical harvests, environmental consciousness, and all around has an educational and entertaining channel.