The Skeena River Watershed, Bulkley river and Babine river will have closures on recreational fishing for salmon, as per a recent Department of Fisheries (DFO) announcement.

The newest closures include Babine River and Bulkley River for Chinook from June 15 to March 31, 2022. The rivers will also have restrictions on Coho fishing from July 15 to October 15, 2022 with a limit of only four per day, only two over 50 centimetre.

There will be no fishing for salmon on the Bulkley River and Morice River waters within the four white triangular fishing boundary signs located at the confluence of the Bulkley River and Morice River also known as the Forks from June 16 to August 15. The closure starts 100 meters upstream of the confluence and ends approximately one kilometre downstream.

鈥淓ffective June 15, 2021 at 00:01 hours through March 31, 2022, recreational fishing for Chinook salmon will be closed on the Skeena River watershed and all rivers and lakes in Region 6 flowing into PFMAs 3 to 6, not including the Kitimat River and Nass River watershed,鈥� said the notice issued by the DFO.

The notice also says that these measures are being implemented to address the on-going concerns for North Coast and Skeena Chinook.

For the Babine Lake and its tributaries, recreational fishing for Chinook has been closed since April 1 and will be closed until Mar 31, 2022 for now. Last year, recreational fishing for Chinook was closed on Babine Lake, after which they opened for two fish and later in the year for four. Based on that, while right now the closure is until Mar 21 of next year, that could change and fishing enthusiasts are encouraged to keep an eye on the complete list of closures on the DFO website - https://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/fresh-douce/region6-eng.html

In case you witness suspicious fishing activity or a violation, the DFO is encouraging the community members to call the Fisheries and Ocean Canada鈥檚 24-hour toll free Observe, Record, Report line at (800) 465-4336.