Your catch may be checked and inspected by enforcement authorities. Failure to comply with the Fisheries Act and its regulations may result in prosecution. The objective of the regulations is to enable enforcement authorities to readily determine the species, the number and, if applicable, the size and weight of fish caught, while it is in transit or at a locale other than your ordinary residence.

In most cases, residents and visitors will transport their sport~caught fish whole. However, if you prefer not to keep the fish whole. these guidelines will help you to prepare and package your catch to reserve the quality and comply with the regulations. If you are not transporting your fish whole, it must be packed so that the species of
fish can be easily identified, counted and measured

When packaging your catch, if a maximum size limit applies, the head and tail must remain attached until you prepare and consume your catch, arrive at your ordinary residence, or deliver your catch to a registered processing facility.

The head of your salmon can be removed only if the length with the head off is equal to or greater than the minimum legal size of that species for the waters in which it was caught. Leave the tail attached so the species can be determined. For example, if a chinook salmon is caugnt where the minimum size limit is 62 cm and it is filleted and packaged for transport, one of the fillets must have the tail attached and be at least 62 cm long. If necessary the fillet can be cut into two pieces; the tail must remain attached to one of the pieces. The fillets should be placed side by side in one bag making it obvious that they represent one fish, and the bag must be labelled with:
a. the salmon species - eg., "one chinook"
b. the number of fillets - "two fillets"
c. the number of pieces - "four pieces"
d. the angler's name.

The exception to these requirements is if your chinook salmon has a missing adipose fin. In this case, please remove the head and turn it in to a Salmonid Head Recovery Depot. The clipped fin indicates the presence of a coded-wire nose tag used for research purposes.

When packaging other species, such as halibut or rockfish, the skin must remain on each fillet for identification
purposes.

When individuals are transporting or shipping fish they must package their fish separately and only have one name per package. However, they may share a container. It is recommended that the contents (number of fish, species and number of packages) be listed on the outside of the container to facilitate inspection.

When packaging crab, the carapace must remain attached to the body of the crab until you arrive at your ordinary residence.

A brochure is available from Fisheries and Oceans Canada offices outlining more detailed guidelines on how to
package your fish properly to be in compliance with the regulation.

REMEMBER: It is your responsibility to ensure the packaging will allow the species, number, size and weight to be readily determined.