Banff National Park of Canada

Fishing Regulations Summary

 

Mountain National Parks
in Alberta and British Columbia

April 1, 2009 - March 31, 2010

It is unlawful to:

• continue fishing on any day after having caught and retained the maximum daily catch and possession limit.
• possess more than 2 game fish at one time.

Check Your Tackle Box!

Some fishing tackle and baits are not allowed near or within national park waters. (Read the National Parks Act, General Fishing Regulations section).

Help Released Fish Survive

Give a released fish the best chance for survival by following these suggestions:

1. Minimize the time you play a fish. A fish played too long may not survive even if released. Remember to always bring fish up from depth slowly. Fish brought up too quickly will rupture their air bladders and die.
2. Be gentle, keeping the fish in the water at all times when handling and releasing.
3. Handle the fish with bare, wet hands. Keep fingers away from the gills and do not squeeze; this may cause internal injury, gill or scale damage.
4. Remove the hook gently with needle-nosed pliers. If the hook is deep, cut the leader rather than pulling the hook out. The hook will decompose in time. Most fish survive with hooks in them.
5. Continue to hold the fish in the water, gently moving it back and forth. This moves water past the gills and will help revive it. For flowing waters, face the fish upstream. When the fish begins to struggle, let it go.
6. If the fish is bleeding excessively, it will likely not survive if released. Kill it and include as part of your catch if permitted.
7. The use of barbless hooks is recommended to make release easier. Hooks can be made barbless by flattening the barb with needle-nosed pliers.
8. Single hooks are recommended to release fish more easily.
9. Continuing to angle for trout in waters exceeding 18^o C reduces the ability of these fish to survive the 'catch and release' process.

Fish Consumption Advisory (Mercury)
Mountain Parks

Parks Canada has been advised that elevated mercury concentrations have been found in fish in some Mountain National Park waters. Therefore, Parks Canada, in consultation with Health Canada, has established consumption guidelines for women of reproductive age and children (see table one).

Mercury in the parks can come from natural sources (e.g. soils and sediments) or sources outside the Mountain Parks (e.g. transported through the atmosphere). It can be passed up the food chain and become concentrated in top predators (e.g. Lake trout, Northern pike). Mercury is a toxin that can affect human health, which is why Health Canada has developed fish consumption guidelines based on the mercury concentration of fish tissue.

Mercury data does not exist for all fish species in all park waters and fish mercury concentrations may change over time. To be precautionary, anglers may wish to apply the following guidelines to all sport fish caught in park waters (see table two).

* Please note that consumption advice has been given for a species
which is not legal to possess. Anglers should check the Catch &
Possession Limits of these Fishing Regulations to ensure that all fish
which are kept are legal to possess. Cisco closely resemble Mountain
whitefish; there are no Mountain whitefish in Moab Lake.
** A 100g serving is approximately the size of a deck of standard
playing cards.

For further information contact:

Banff National Park: 403.762.1418
email: Banff.aquatics@pc.gc.ca
www.pc.gc.ca/banff

Yoho, Kootenay National Parks: 250.347.6159
email: llyk.aquatics@pc.gc.ca

Jasper National Park: 780.852.6205
email: ward.hughson@pc.gc.ca

Waterton Lakes National Park: 403.859.5182
email: barb.johnston@pc.gc.ca

Mount Revelstoke/Glacier National Parks: 250.837.7553
email: jen.theberge@pc.gc.ca

Field Notes
Whirling Disease: Are we next?
A microscopic parasite is devastating trout and salmon populations in Montana, Utah and Colorado. Infectious spores can exist in mud for up to 30 years. If you fish US waters, you are a special risk. More information can be found at: www.pc.gc.ca/banff

Definitions

Natural bait ban: you can only use lures made of feathers, fibre, rubber, wood, metal or plastic. No edible material, scented lures or chemical attractants are permitted.

Barbless Hook: this includes a hook the barbs of which are pressed against the shaft of the hook so that the barbs are not functional.

Fly fishing only: means only artificial flies may be used.

Artificial fly: this is a single or double hook on a common shank, dressed with silk, tinsel, wood, fur, feathers or other materials (no lead), or any combination thereof without a spinning device, whether attached to the hook or line.

Tributary: any water course which flows into another body of water. This includes a tributary to a tributary. Lakes are excluded unless otherwise specified.

Trout: for the purposes of this summary, the word trout includes char species.