Manila Clams
Butter Clam
Razor Clam
LittleNeck Clam
Varnish Clam
Immediately prior to harvesting, check for
shellfish closures with the nearest DFO
office, or by calling 604-666-2828, or visit
the
sewage and biotoxin contamination closures
website for PSP and other shellfish
closures.
Daily limits vary according to area and
species. Check the
shellfish table for limits.
CRABS
Crabs have three to
four pairs of walking legs and a pair of claws
that are used for feeding and defence. Female
crabs carry egg clusters on the underside of
their bodies.
Crabs shed their
old shell in order to grow, increasing in size
before the new shell hardens, in a process
called molting. Although there are nearly 100
species of crab in B.C., the two species of most
interest to fishers are Dungeness crab and Red
Rock crab. Dungeness crabs are graybrown on the
back and yellow underneath, and their claws have
white tips. Red Rock crabs are brick red above
and white below, and their claws have black
tips.
Dungeness crab must
be at least 165 mm in width. Redrock crab must
measure at least 115 mm. Undersized crab must be
returned to the water immediately. A crab is
measured in a straight line through the widest
part of the carapace, or shell, from outside the
points. Harvesters are advised to measure crabs
using a caliper device.
Redrock Crab
Pacific (Dungeness) Crab
For information on
harvesting crabs, visit
Crabs and Crabbing.
MUSSELS
Mussels have
bluish-black shells curved in a distinctive “D”
shape, like a flattened teardrop. The inside of
the shell is pearly violet or white. Projecting
from between the shells on the flat side is a
bundle of tough, brown byssal threads, which are
used to anchor the mussel to hard surfaces.
Inshore waters support the native blue mussel,
which can reach nine cm in length. Wave-swept
rocky shores have beds of the larger California
mussel, which grows to 25 cm in length. The Blue
mussel has a smooth outer shell surface with
growth rings, while the California mussel has
raised radial ribs.
Immediately prior
to harvesting, check for shellfish closures with
the nearest DFO office, or by calling
604-666-2828, or visit the
sewage and biotoxin contamination closures
website for PSP and other shellfish closures.
Check the
shellfish table for limits. In the Pacific
Rim National Park the combined daily limit for
mussels is 12.
OCTOPUS
The
octopus has eight tentacles that sometimes
stretch 4.8 m across in a 45 kg specimen. The
octopus is a mollusc that is related to the
squid, oyster, clam and snail. The giant Pacific
octopus is the major species on the west coast
and also the world's largest. It is illegal to
use jigs, gaffs, spears, rakes or any other
sharp-pointed instrument to take octopus. It is
recommended that harvesters use a very sharp
knife to kill Octopus quickly.
Daily limit is 1.
OYSTERS
Pacific oysters are
large shellfish that are the primary species
cultured in southern B.C. Their shells are thick
with a rough sculptured appearance. Shell colour
varies: the outside is a combination of browns,
greens and grays, often with sharp purple
fluting near the edges. The interior is white
and satin smooth. The two shells of the oyster
are held together by a ligament at the hinge and
a large adductor muscle.
The North Coast
(Areas 1-11) is closed to the harvest of oysters
due to PSP concerns.
The Lower Mainland
area is closed to oyster harvesting.
Immediately
prior to harvesting, check for shellfish
closures with the nearest DFO office, or by
calling 604-666-2828, or visit the
sewage and biotoxin contamination closures
website for PSP and other shellfish closures.
Return oyster
shells to the beach, preferably where you
collected them. Oyster larvae survive at a much
better rate if they settle on the old shells.
NOTE: Permission is
required to harvest oysters from marked oyster
farms.
Check the
shellfish table for limits.
Olympia Oysters
The
Olympia oyster (Ostrea conchaphila) is the only
native oyster along the west coast of Canada. It
is a small oyster species, with a maximum
reported size of 9 cm, although most individuals
are less than 5 cm. Large clusters of Olympia
oysters once existed in the Strait of Georgia,
however only small groupings have survived. They
exist in a few sites on the west coast of
Vancouver Island but little information exists
on populations in Johnstone Strait or the
Central and North Coasts. Given the history of
poor resilience to directed harvests and the
relatively limited number of sites where
Olympias occur, recreational fishers are asked
to not disturb these oysters.
Fishing
restrictions may be introduced in the future.
SCALLOPS
Of the 10 species
of scallop known from B.C., only four are of
interest to fishers. Spiny and pink scallops are
relatively small (less than 10 cm) and reddish
in colour. Weathervane scallops are large (15 to
20 cm) with brown upper shells and whitish lower
shells. Rock scallops are large (up to at least
20 cm) with thick, rough shells often overgrown
with encrusting organisms. Spiny, pink and
weathervane scallops are swimming scallops,
while adult rock scallops attach themselves to
objects.The North Coast (Areas 1-11) is closed
to the harvest of rock, pink, spiny and
weathervane scallops due to PSP concerns.
Immediately prior
to harvesting, check for shellfish closures with
the nearest DFO office, or by calling
604-666-2828, or visit the
sewage and biotoxin contamination closures
website for PSP and other shellfish closures.
Check the
shellfish table for limits.
For more
information about
scallops.
SEA CUCUMBERS
The daily limit for sea cucumbers is 12.
For more
information on
sea cucumbers.
SEA URCHINS
The daily limit for sea urchins is 12.
For more
information on
sea urchins.
SHRIMP & PRAWNS
Shrimp
have two body sections protected by a hard outer
covering called a carapace. They sport antennae,
eyes, mouthparts, and feeding and walking legs.
The muscular abdomen extends behind the carapace
and has swimming legs and a fanlike tail. Most
shrimp live three years: one as a juvenile, one
as a male and one as a female. Five of the 85
species of shrimp found in B.C. are of interest
to fishers: coonstripe, humpback, smooth and
spiny pink shrimp, and prawns. Coonstripe shrimp
are red-brown with irregular brown and white
oblique lines on the carapace and abdomen.
Humpback shrimp are red-tan with dark red and
bright white markings.Pink shrimp are uniform
translucent red. Prawns, the largest shrimp in
B.C. (25 cm in length), are red with white
horizontal bars on the carapace and at least two
pairs of white spots on the abdomen. Coonstripe
shrimp live in shallow water on or near pilings
and floats; humpback shrimp on soft or hard
bottoms; pink shrimp on soft bottom; and prawns
in rocky areas.
The daily limit for
shrimp is 200 and the possession limit is
400.
For conservation
purposes, prawns carrying eggs under their tail
should be released.
Check the
shellfish table for limits.
Visit
shrimp and prawns for further information on
harvesting and gear.
SQUID
Squid are swimming
soft-bodied animals characterized by a muscular
tube called the mantle. The mantle has fins at
the narrow end, contains the internal organs and
is open at the end supporting the head, arms and
tentacles.
Squid have large
eyes, 10 arms and two feeding tentacles that
have suckers and sometimes hooks on pads at the
ends. They swim slowly using their fins and
force water from the mantle through a siphon for
burst of greater speed. Depending on activity
level, squid change colour rapidly. Three
species are of interest to B.C. fishers: opal
squid, neon flying squid and Humboldt squid.
Opal squid are relatively small (up to 13 cm in
B.C.) and are pale lavender in colour. They are
found in inshore waters, most noticeably when
they gather in large schools to spawn in shallow
water. Neon flying squid are relatively large
(up to 100 cm and 5 kg). They are mauve on the
upper surface and silvery or gold below; the
tentacle sucker rings are distinctivewith four
large teeth and numerous smaller teeth in
between. Humboldt squid are very large (up to
200 cm and 45 kg) and are brown or red in colour.
Please Note:
Make
sure you know what the size and catch limits are
for the species that you intend to harvest.
Provincial Parks,
National Parks, and ecological reserves, may
have species limits or restrictions. Be sure to
check with the local DFO office or Park Office
prior to harvesting.
AQUATIC INVASIVE
SPECIES
Plants and animals
which do not occur naturally in an area are
referred to as aquatic invasive species (AIS).
In marine waters, some AIS have been introduced
for commercial reasons. Pacific oysters and
Manila clams are prime examples of such species
on the West Coast. Other, not so welcome exotic
species, may arrive in the ballast water of
foreign ships, on the propeller or hull of
recreational boats, through pet stores, research
institutions, or with live imported bait or
seafood.
AIS can be
detrimental to our native populations of plants
and animals. Your help in documenting aquatic
invasive species in our waters is needed.
European Green Crab
The European green
Crab (Carcinus maenas), has arrived in B.C.
waters. Surveys conducted in 2006 found green
crab in Barkely Sound, Clayquot Sound, Nootka
Sound and Esperanza Inlet. Green crab may pose a
serious threat to estuarine and marine
ecosystems on the West Coast of North America as
they are voracious predators feeding on a
variety of intertidal plants and animals,
including oysters, mussels, clams and juvenile
crabs.
How to identify:
five lateral carapace spines; carapace width up
to 10 cm;
three rounded lobes between eyes; rear legs are
flattened for swimming;
colour varies from yellow/green to reddish/brown
for live animals and
‘washed or baked’ red for moults.
Tunicate Species
Several
exotic tunicate (sea squirt) species have
invaded Canadian waters. At least six of these
species have been reported in B.C. and most are
the focus of ongoing monitoring and research
projects.
Those
of concern include individual or solitary
tunicates (clubbed tunicate and vase tunicate)
and grouped or colonial tunicates (golden star
tunicate, violet tunicate). Tunicates generally
are found on a variety of submerged structures
(e.g.: docks, buoys, ropes, anchors, pilings,
boat hulls, etc.). Many of the exotic tunicate
species have the ability to overgrow native
species affecting community structure and
dynamics.
How to identify:
colonial tunicates grow in dense colonies of
individual organisms (zooids) with a gelatinous
texture. Solitary tunicates can be distinguished
by the arrangement of the zooids.
Mitten Crab
Mitten crabs,
originally from Asia, are another exotic species
to North America. This crab poses a serious
threat to freshwater and tidal water ecosystems,
and was first discovered on the west coast of
California in 1992. There is reason to believe
that they could migrate into B.C. waters.
Mitten crabs live
in freshwater but migrate to tidal water to
reproduce (they are the only freshwater crab in
North America). They can eat salmon, trout and
sturgeon eggs and may threaten successful
spawning of these species. They have also been
known to damage fish habitat due to erosion of
river banks.
These crabs are
easily identifiable by two hairy, equal-sized
claws. They have a notch between the eyes and
may be up to 100 mm wide. The colour of Mitten
crabs varies from light brown to olive green.
Zebra Mussels
Zebra mussels, a
freshwater mollusc, are an introduced or exotic
species to Canada. They were introduced to the
Great Lakes System in 1988 and have spread
rapidly to inland lake systems in Ontario,
likely aided by recreational boating traffic.
Zebra mussels are
invisible to the naked eye in their early life
stages (called veliger), when they can be
transferred unknowingly in pipes, live wells,
bilge water and baitfish buckets. They are
generally found in shallow (6-30 feet),
algae-rich water.
Where Zebra mussels
have colonized, often in large clusters, they
have clogged municipal and industrial water
intake lines, covered boat hulls, fouled
beaches, killed native clams and disrupted lake
ecosystems.
At three weeks,
they begin to form hard shells and will resemble
loose gravel or silt. Even at this early stage,
Zebra mussels can attach to hard objects by
"holdfasts" –strong, tough, byssal threads.
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As larvae, flatfish resemble other fish in
having an eye on each side of their head.
However, the skull changes so that both eyes are
on one
When
fishing for smelt or eulachon by means of a
gillnet, the net cannot exceed 7.5 m in length
and the mesh size must be greater than 25 mm,
but less than 50 mm. 
species
such as squid,
sea cucumbers,
and octopus the
shells are
hidden or
absent. 
Northern
abalone have thin, oval shells
with an irregular reddish or
greenish upper surface,
sometimes marked with blue or
white, and often overgrown with
encrusting organisms. The
interior is iridescent white
with a faint pink and green
sheen. There is a series of
three to six raised holes
allowing water currents to pass
over the abalone’s gills.
