Yukon Territory Fishery Regulations

C.R.C., c. 854

FISHERIES ACT

Yukon Territory Fishery Regulations

REGULATIONS RESPECTING FISHING IN THE YUKON TERRITORY

SHORT TITLE

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Yukon Territory Fishery Regulations.

INTERPRETATION

2. (1) In these Regulations,

"Act" [Repealed, SOR/93-60, s. 1]

"Agreement" has the same meaning as in the Western Arctic (Inuvialuit) Claims Settlement Act; (Convention)

"angling" means fishing by the use of a rod, line and hook, or a line and hook other than a set line; (pêche à la ligne)

"angling licence" means a licence issued under these Regulations for the purposes of angling; (permis de pêche à la ligne)

"artificial fly" means a single hook that

(a) is dressed only with fur, feathers, textiles or tinsel wire or any combination thereof, and

(b) does not have a spinning device or any external weight attached to it; (mouche artificielle)

"assistant licence" means a licence issued under these Regulations that authorizes a person to engage in commercial or domestic fishing as a helper while in the presence and under the supervision of a person who holds a commercial fishing licence or a domestic fishing licence; (permis d'aide)

"barbless hook" includes a hook all the barbs of which have been compressed to be in complete contact with the shaft of the hook; (hameçon sans ardillon)

"beneficiary" means a person who is enrolled as a beneficiary under the Agreement; (bénéficiaire)

"Canadian resident" means a person who ordinarily resides in Canada and who is not a Yukon resident; (résident canadien)

"commercial fishing" means fishing for or catching fish all or any portion of which is intended to be sold, traded or bartered, but does not include fishing by a beneficiary within the Inuvialuit Settlement Region for subsistence usage; (pêche commerciale)

"commercial fishing licence" means a licence issued under these Regulations for the purposes of commercial fishing; (permis de pêche commerciale)

"Department" means the Department of Fisheries and Oceans; (ministère)

"derby" means any sport fishing competition in which 25 or more persons participate; (concours)

"dip net" means a net that is hung on a ring or frame and that has a closed bottom; (épuisette)

"domestic fishing" means fishing for or catching fish that is to be used solely for personal consumption by the person fishing for or catching the fish or by that person's family but does not include

(a) sport fishing,

(b) [Repealed, SOR/93-339, s. 1]

(c) fishing by a beneficiary within the Inuvialuit Settlement Region for subsistence usage; (pêche à des fins domestiques)

"domestic fishing licence" means a licence issued under these Regulations for the purposes of domestic fishing; (permis de pêche à des fins domestiques)

"downrigger" means a line used in angling or to assist in angling that has a weight greater than 500 g attached to it; (lest automatique)

"fillet" means any piece of fish flesh; (filet)

"fish farming" means the natural or artificial propagation of fish in any water authorized to be set apart for that purpose by the Minister under section 57 of the Fisheries Act. (aquaculture)

"fish wheel" means a stationary apparatus that is set in a river or stream and is composed of a wheel designed to rotate by means of water power and to catch fish in a series of baskets mounted around the circumference of the wheel; (tourniquet)

"fishing boundary sign" means a white triangular marker that is comprised of three boards, each of which is at least 1.5 m in length and at least 12 cm in width; (borne de pêche)

"freshwater fish" means any fish found in the Yukon Territory other than a fish of an anadromous stock of

(a) chum salmon,

(b) coho salmon,

(c) chinook salmon,

(d) pink salmon,

(e) sockeye salmon,

(f) rainbow trout,

(g) the subfamily Coregoninae, (whitefish and cisco) or

(h) Arctic char; (poisson d'eau douce)

"game fish" means any fish of a species set out in Schedule II; (poisson de sport)

"gill net" means a net that catches fish by enmeshing them but that does not enclose an area of water; (filet maillant)

"hook" means a single-pointed or multiple-pointed hook on a common shaft and includes a hook on an artificial lure; (hameçon)

"Indian" has the same meaning as in the Indian Act; (Indien)

"Indian food fish licence" [Repealed, SOR/93-339, s. 1]

"Inuk" means a person who is a direct descendant of a person of the race of aborigines commonly known as Inuit; (Inuk)

"Inuvialuit Settlement Region" has the same meaning as in the Agreement; (région désignée)

"length" means, for the purposes of measuring a fish, the distance between the furthest anterior point of the head of the fish and the furthest posterior point of the caudal fin of the fish; (longueur)

"mesh size" means the size of a single mesh of net determined by measuring, without straining the twine, the inside diagonal distance between the knots after immersion in water for not less than 1/2 hour; (maillage)

"Minister" means

(a) with respect to the administration of freshwater fisheries, the Executive Council Member responsible for Renewable Resources for the Yukon Territory, or

(b) in any other case, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans for Canada; (ministre)

"monofilament" means any single filament that has more than 50 deniers and weighs more than 50 g per 9 000 m of filament; (monofil)

"non-resident" means a person who is not a Yukon resident or a Canadian resident; (non-résident)

"permanent resident" [Repealed, SOR/93-60, s. 1]

"processed fish" means fish that has been canned, smoked, salted, cooked, pickled or dried; (poisson transformé)

"qualified non-resident" means, where Alaska has implemented an understanding with Yukon in respect of sport fishing licences, a person who

(a) holds a valid Alaska resident sport fishing licence, or

(b) has held a valid Alaska resident sport fishing licence within 12 months before making an application for a sport fishing licence under these Regulations; (non-résident admissible)

"radio station" [Repealed, SOR/93-60, s. 1]

"Regional Director" [Repealed, SOR/93-60, s. 1]

"set line" means a line that is anchored to the bed of a lake or river and has attached to it a hook that is lying on the bed of the lake or river; (ligne fixe)

"snagging" means attempting to catch or catching a fish with a hook in any manner other than inducing it to take the hook in its mouth; (casaquer)

"spear" includes a bow and arrow; (harpon)

"sport fishing" means fishing for recreational purposes by angling, using a dip net or using a set line; (pêche sportive)

"sport fishing licence" means a licence issued under these Regulations for the purpose of sport fishing; (permis de pêche sportive)

"subsistence usage" has the same meaning as in paragraph (a) of the definition of this expression in the Agreement. (utilisation à des fins de subsistance)

"trap net" or "pound net" [Repealed, SOR/93-60, s. 1]

"trolling" means fishing by means of a lure drawn behind a boat or other floating object; (pêche à la traîne)

"Yukon resident" means a person who ordinarily resides in the Yukon Territory; (résident du Yukon)

"Yukon River salmon licence" means a licence issued under these Regulations that authorizes a person to fish for salmon in the waters of the Yukon River. (permis de pêche du saumon du fleuve Yukon) SOR/82-875, s. 1; SOR/87-439, s. 1; SOR/89-155, s. 1(F); SOR/92-444, s. 1; SOR/93-60, s. 1; SOR/93-339, s. 1; SOR/94-269, s. 1; SOR/99-98, s. 1; SOR/2001-324, s. 1; SOR/2003-339, s. 1.

(2) [Repealed, SOR/93-60, s. 1]

APPLICATION

3. (1) These Regulations apply in respect of fishing in the Canadian fisheries waters off the Yukon Territory and in the waters of the Yukon Territory other than the waters of a National Park of Canada located in that Territory.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in these Regulations, these Regulations, other than subsections (1) and 9(3) and -- to the extent that they relate to a contravention of subsection 9(3) -- sections 10 and 11, do not apply with respect to fishing and related activities carried out under the authority of a licence issued under the Aboriginal Communal Fishing Licences Regulations. SOR/82-875, s. 2; SOR/93-60, s. 2(F); SOR/2002-225, s. 2; SOR/2003-339, s. 2.

LICENCES AND CONSERVATION CARDS--GENERAL

4. (1) Subject to subsections (3) and 5.1(1), no person shall fish, engage in fish farming or hold a derby except under the authority of a licence issued under these Regulations, the Fishery (General) Regulations or the Aboriginal Communal Fishing Licences Regulations.

(2) Subject to subsection 6(14.1), on receipt of an application for a licence and, where applicable, a Salmon Conservation Catch Card as set out in column I of an item of Schedule III, together with the applicable fee set out in column II of that item, the Minister may issue the licence or the Salmon Conservation Catch Card.

(3) A person under 16 years of age may engage in angling without a licence if the person

(a) is a Yukon resident; or

(b) is accompanied by a person who is the holder of an angling licence or a sport fishing licence issued under these Regulations.

(4) All fish caught by a person under 16 years of age shall be counted as part of the catch of the licence holder referred to in paragraph 3(b).

(5) The person under 16 years of age referred to in subsection (3) shall, at the request of a fishery officer or fishery guardian, produce proof of age. SOR/82-875, s. 3; SOR/87-439, s. 2; SOR/89-155, s. 2; SOR/92-444, s. 2; SOR/93-60, s. 3; SOR/93-339, s. 2; SOR/94-269, s. 2; SOR/99-98, s. 2; SOR/2003-339, s. 3.

4.1 [Repealed, SOR/89-155, s. 3]

5. [Repealed, SOR/93-339, s. 3]

INUVIALUIT SUBSISTENCE FISHERY

5.1 (1) Notwithstanding subsection 4(1), a beneficiary may fish for subsistence usage within the Inuvialuit Settlement Region without a licence.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection 9(4) and subject to section 12 of the Agreement, a beneficiary may sell to or trade or barter with

(a) another beneficiary, fish or any part thereof taken for subsistence usage from the Inuvialuit Settlement Region; or

(b) any other person, the nonedible by-products of fish taken from the Inuvialuit Settlement Region by the beneficiary for personal use.

(3) No person, other than a beneficiary, shall possess any edible portions of fish taken for subsistence usage from the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.

(4) In the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, subsection 9(1) does not apply to a beneficiary. SOR/92-444, s. 3; SOR/99-98, s. 3.

COMMERCIAL AND DOMESTIC FISHERY

6. (1) and (2) [Repealed, SOR/93-60, s. 5]

(3) [Repealed, SOR/94-269, s. 3]

(4) and (5) [Repealed, SOR/82-875, s. 5]

(6) [Repealed, SOR/93-60, s. 5]

(7) Each gang of nets shall be marked at each end during open water fishing by a buoy, and during winter fishing by a stake the top of which shall be at least 1.2 m above the surface of the ice.

(8) No person shall,

(a) when fishing for any species of fish, set or operate gill nets that have a mesh size of less than 100 mm;

(b) [Repealed, SOR/87-439, s. 4]

(c) when fishing under the authority of a domestic fishing licence, set or operate

(i) more than one gill net, or

(ii) a gill net that exceeds 90 m in length.

(9) Except with the permission of a fishery officer, no person shall leave a gill net in the water

(a) between May 1st and November 30th, for more than 30 consecutive hours, and

(b) between December 1st and April 30th, for more than 72 consecutive hours,

without withdrawing it from the water and removing any fish caught therein.

(10) No person shall engage in fishing for salmon by means of fish wheels except in the Yukon River downstream from a fishing boundary sign located 800 m downstream from the confluence of Tatchun Creek and the Yukon River.

(11) and (12) [Repealed, SOR/94-269, s. 3]

(13) No person shall fish for salmon for commercial purposes in the Yukon River and its tributaries unless that person holds

(a) a commercial fishing licence; and

(b) a Yukon River salmon licence.

(13.1) [Repealed, SOR/87-439, s. 4]

(14) No person shall fish for salmon for domestic purposes in the Yukon River and its tributaries unless that person holds

(a) a domestic fishing licence; and

(b) a Yukon River salmon licence.

(14.1) The Minister may issue a Yukon River salmon licence to a person who holds a commercial fishing licence or domestic fishing licence and who, on or before March 31 in the year for which the Yukon River salmon licence is to be valid, applies in writing to the District Supervisor of the Department for the Yukon Territory and, with the application, encloses the fee for the Yukon River salmon licence that is set out in Schedule III.

(15) No person shall engage in commercial fishing or domestic fishing

(a) in the Yukon River

(i) upstream from a fishing boundary sign located approximately 800 m downstream from the confluence of Tatchun Creek and the Yukon River; or

(ii) between the fishing boundary signs located approximately 800 m upstream from the confluence of the Yukon and Klondike Rivers and approximately 1.6 km downstream from that confluence;

(b) in the Pelly River watershed upstream from the confluence of the Pelly and MacMillan Rivers;

(c) in the Porcupine River watershed upstream from a fishing boundary sign located approximately 8 km upstream from the village of Old Crow; or

(d) in the Stewart River watershed

(i) upstream from the confluence of the Stewart and McQueston Rivers, or

(ii) downstream from the confluence of the Stewart and McQueston Rivers from September 30 to July 7.

(16) No person shall engage in commercial fishing for salmon in the waters of the Yukon River and its tributaries during the close time beginning on October 30 in one year and ending on June 15 in the next year.

(16.1) No person shall engage in domestic fishing for salmon for domestic purposes in the waters of the Yukon River and its tributaries during the close time beginning on October 30 in one year and ending on June 15 in the next year.

(17) No person shall engage in commercial fishing in the Yukon River with

(a) more than three fish wheels;

(b) more than

(i) two fish wheels, and

(ii) 45 m of gill net consisting of a maximum of two nets;

(c) more than

(i) one fish wheel, and

(ii) 65 m of gill net consisting of a maximum of three nets; or

(d) more than 90 m of gill net consisting of a maximum of four nets. SOR/80-836, s. 1; SOR/82-875, s. 5; SOR/87-439, s. 4; SOR/89-155, s. 4; SOR/93-60, s. 5; SOR/94-269, s. 3; SOR/2000-215, s. 1.

SPORT FISHING

[SOR/94-269, s. 4]

7. (1) No person shall engage in sport fishing in Tatlmain or Wellesley Lake unless the person holds

(a) a sport fishing licence set out in any of paragraphs 5(a) to (i) of Schedule III; and

(b) a sport fishing licence set out in paragraph 5(l) or (m), as the case may be, of that Schedule.

(2) No person shall, by angling, catch and retain, in any one day, more fish of a species set out in Column I of an item of Schedule IV, from the waters set out in Column II of that item than the daily catch limit set out for that species of fish in Column III of that item.

(2.1) Despite subsection (2), no person shall, in any one day, continue angling on Tatlmain Lake after they have caught and retained or caught and released five fish regardless of species.

(3) No person shall possess, in respect of fish caught by angling, more fish of a species set out in column I of an item of Schedule IV from the waters set out in column II of that item than the possession limit set out in column IV of that item.

(3.1) and (3.2) [Repealed, SOR/99-98, s. 4]

(4) No person shall, by angling, catch and retain, or have in his possession a fish of a species set out in Column I of an item of Schedule IV that is less than the minimum length set out in Column V of that item.

(5) Where a fish has been filletted, two fillets shall be deemed to be one fish, and unless the body of the fish is shown, every fillet shall be deemed to be from a game fish.

(6) No person shall, while angling,

(a) use more than one line except when angling through the ice, in which case two lines may be used; or

(b) use on a line any gear that is designed to catch more than one fish at a time except while fly fishing where two artificial flies may be used; or

(c) [Repealed, SOR/94-269, s. 5]

(6.1) A person who holds a sport fishing licence may use a dip net to catch lake whitefish or suckers (Catastomous spp.) in accordance with the terms of that licence.

(7) No person shall, while angling, leave fishing gear unattended in the water.

(8) A person who holds a sport fishing licence may use a set line to catch burbot in accordance with the terms of that licence.

(9) A person who holds a sport fishing licence may snag cisco from Tagish Bridge over the Tagish River (60°15'N, 134°17'W) and from Carcross Bridge over the Nares River (60°09'N, 134°37'W) in accordance with the terms of that licence.

(10) Where a person is authorized under a sport fishing licence to use a set line, that person may leave that set line unattended for a period not exceeding 30 consecutive hours.

(11) [Repealed, SOR/93-60, s. 6]

(12) No person shall angle from June 1 until November 30, except with a single-pointed barbless hook with a distance between the point and the shank of no more than 20 mm, in any of the following waters:

(a) Klukshu River;

(b) Tatshenshini River;

(c) Blanchard River;

(d) Village Creek; or

(e) Takhanne River.

(13) No person shall angle from July 1 until October 15, except with a single-pointed barbless hook with a distance between the point and the shank of no more than 20 mm, in any of the following waters:

(a) Klondike River;

(b) Takhini River;

(c) Yukon River;

(d) Morley River;

(e) Smart River;

(f) Lapie River;

(g) Teslin River;

(h) Firth River; or

(i) Blind Creek.

(14) No person shall angle in the waters set out in

(a) Part I of Schedule VI, except with a barbless hook; or

(b) Part II of Schedule VI, except with a single-pointed barbless hook.

(15) No person shall, while angling, be in possession of a landing gaff.

(16) Subject to subsection (17), no licence holder shall angle for salmon or possess salmon caught by angling without a Salmon Conservation Catch Card issued under subsection 4(2).

(17) Subsection (16) does not apply to Kokanee salmon and salmon caught from salmon stocked lakes.

(18) Every holder of a Salmon Conservation Catch Card shall

(a) in relation to every salmon caught by the holder, whether it is retained or released, immediately record in the appropriate section of the Card

(i) the date and location the salmon is caught,

(ii) the species and sex of the salmon,

(iii) the presence or absence of tags and an adipose fin, and

(iv) the gear type with which the salmon was caught;

(b) produce it to a fishery officer or fishery guardian on request; and

(c) submit the Card to the Department no later than November 30 of the year of issue.

(19) A person may engage in sport fishing in the following waters without a licence issued under these Regulations if the person is authorized to engage in angling in the province of British Columbia pursuant to the Province's Wildlife Act:

(a) Atlin Lake;

(b) Bennet Lake;

(c) Laidlaw Lake;

(d) Liard River;

(e) Morley Lake;

(f) Rancheria River;

(g) Swift River;

(h) Tagish Lake; and

(i) Teslin Lake.

(20) No person shall, while sport fishing in the waters set out in subsection (19), catch in one day more fish than the daily catch limit or the daily quota authorized:

(a) under section 7 of these Regulations; or

(b) under section 56 of the British Columbia Sport Fishing Regulations, 1996. SOR/80-836, s. 2; SOR/82-875, s. 6; SOR/87-439, s. 5; SOR/89-155, s. 5; SOR/93-60, s. 6; SOR/94-269, s. 5; SOR/99-98, s. 4; SOR/2000-215, s. 2; SOR/2001-324, s. 2; SOR/2003-339, s. 4.

FISHERY CLOSURES

8. (1) to (3) [Repealed, SOR/93-60, s. 7]

(4) No person shall fish in the waters set out in column I of an item of Schedule V during the close time set out in column II of that item. SOR/82-875, s. 7; SOR/87-439, s. 6; SOR/91-394, s. 1; SOR/92-451, s. 1; SOR/93-60, s. 7.

8.1 (1) No person shall angle in the waters of Tatchun Creek or in the Yukon River at the confluence of Tatchun Creek and the Yukon River as marked by fishing boundary signs from August 1 to September 30 in any year.

(2) No person shall, while angling, use any lure other than an artificial fly

(a) in the Yukon River from the Whitehorse Dam downstream to the Robert Campbell Bridge from July 15 to September 30;

(b) in the Takhini River from Kusawa Lake downstream to its confluence with the Yukon River from August 20 to September 15; or

(c) in the Takhanne River downstream from Million Dollar Falls. SOR/82-875, s. 7; SOR/87-439, s. 6; SOR/94-51, s. 1.

(3) [Repealed, SOR/87-439, s. 6]

(4) and (5) [Repealed, SOR/94-51, s. 1]

PROHIBITIONS

9. (1) Subject to these Regulations, no person shall

(a) molest, injure or kill any fish;

(b) trap or pen fish in their spawning grounds or in any river or stream leading thereto;

(c) use torches or artificial lights to attract fish;

(d) catch or attempt to catch fish by snagging or with snares or set lines;

(e) use firearms to kill or injure finfish;

(f) [Repealed, SOR/93-60, s. 8]

(g) use a dip net except when landing a fish caught by angling;

(h) [Repealed, SOR/93-60, s. 8]

(i) use a gaff or a spear while fishing; or

(j) use a gill net that contains monofilament in its web while fishing.

(2) Subject to subsection (2.1), no person shall, in any waters, catch and retain

(a) whitefish, cisco, lake trout or inconnu from September 1st to October 31st in any year; or

(b) grayling from May 1st to June 15th in any year.

(2.1) Subsection (2) does not apply to a person who

(a) holds an angling licence;

(b) is fishing under the authority of a licence issued under the Aboriginal Communal Fishing Licences Regulations;

(c) holds any other licence listed in subsection 4(3) if the licence specifies any fish referred to in subsection (2) that may be caught and retained during the applicable period set out in subsection (2); or

(d) is a beneficiary who is fishing for subsistence usage within the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.

(3) No person shall

(a) bring into the Yukon Territory for use as bait any live fish, salamander or other aquatic organism;

(b) release into any waters of the Yukon Territory any live fish unless that fish is released

(i) to the waters from which it was taken, or

(ii) in accordance with a licence issued pursuant to section 56 of the Fishery (General) Regulations;

(c) release into any waters of the Yukon Territory any live salamander or other live aquatic organism, that is not a fish, unless that salamander or other aquatic organism was taken from waters of the Yukon Territory;

(d) possess any live fish for use as bait in the Yukon Territory; or

(e) use any live fish as bait in the Yukon Territory. SOR/82-875, s. 8; SOR/87-439, s. 7; SOR/89-155, s. 6; SOR/92-444, s. 4; SOR/93-60, s. 8; SOR/93-339, s. 4; SOR/94-269, s. 6; SOR/99-98, s. 5.

(4) to (6) [Repealed, SOR/93-60, s. 8]

PRESCRIBED TICKETABLE OFFENCES

10. The contravention of any provision of these Regulations as set out in column I of an item of Schedule VII is an offence to which section 79.7 of the Fisheries Act applies and which may be described in tickets in a manner set out in column II of that item. SOR/99-98, s. 6.

FINES

11. Where proceedings are commenced under section 79.7 of the Fisheries Act, the amount of the fine for the offence described in column II of an item of Schedule VII is the amount set out in column III of that item. SOR/99-98, s. 6.

SCHEDULE I

[Repealed, SOR/94-269, s. 7]

SCHEDULE II
(Subsection 2(1))
GAME FISH

SOR/82-875, s. 10; SOR/94-269, ss. 8, 9; SOR/99-98, s. 7; SOR/2003-339, s. 5.

SCHEDULE III
(Subsections 4(2) 6(14.1) and 7(1))
LICENCES AND FEES

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SOR/82-875, s. 10; SOR/89-582, ss. 1, 2; SOR/90-464, s. 1; SOR/92-444, s. 5; SOR/93-339, s. 5; SOR/94-269, ss. 10 to 12; SOR/99-98, ss. 8 to 10; SOR/2003-339, ss. 6, 7.

SCHEDULE IV
(s. 7)
CATCH, POSSESSION AND LENGTH LIMITS

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SOR/80-836, s. 4; SOR/82-875, s. 10; SOR/87-439, s. 8; SOR/89-155, ss. 7(F), 8(F); SOR/94-269, ss. 13 to 16; SOR/99-98, ss. 11, 12; SOR/2003-339, ss. 8, 9(E), 10.