B.C. chum: Area 14 gillnet test fishery opens Oct. 19, Johnstone Strait seine derby set for Oct. 21–22

Fisheries and Oceans Canada sent two commercial chum salmon notices on the afternoon of Oct. 16. One fishery opens today. The other is set for later this week. Both allow pink salmon to be kept, and both ban keeping sockeye, coho, chinook and steelhead.

Notice FN1132 opens a limited-entry gillnet assessment fishery in Area 14, off the east side of Vancouver Island near Hornby and Denman islands. It runs 50 hours, from 08:00 on Oct. 19 to 10:00 on Oct. 21. Ten vessels were chosen by random draw through the Area D Harvest Committee, and the notice lists them by name. DFO says it will close the opening on short notice if any other boat tries to fish. The fishery is meant to test whether early catch per unit of effort can predict the size of the Mid-Vancouver Island chum run. The catch will also be sampled for stock identification, and bycatch will be tracked. Nets can be no longer than 375 meters, with a minimum mesh of 149 mm.

Notice FN1127 sets up the Area B seine chum fishery in Johnstone Strait as a full-fleet derby. Subject to in-season assessment, it opens 08:00 to 18:00 on Oct. 21 and 08:00 to 14:00 on Oct. 22, in listed subareas of Areas 12 and 13. The seine ribbon boundary is not in effect. The minimum bunt mesh is 100 mm, and power skiffs are not allowed.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: Fisheries and Oceans Canada fishery notices FN1132 — Area 14 Limited Effort CSAF Assessment Fishery, Opening Oct. 19, 2026 and FN1127 — Area B Johnstone Strait, Opening Oct. 21 and 22, 2026 (both sent Oct. 16, 2026).