Sunshine Coast

Howe Sound's quiet neighbour: Gibsons, Sechelt Inlet and Pender Harbour saltwater.

Weather, wind and water

Marine ForecastStrait of Georgia - south of Nanaimo

Current forecast and warning status not yet verified. Checking Environment Canada...

Check the official forecast and warnings
Environment Canada weather forecastSechelt
TidesGibsons - 3-day table
DFO openings + closuresAreas 15-16 - latest notices
Earlier dated DFO notices

Latest DFO fishery notices touching this region, refreshed each morning - full details and regulations on DFO's page

Click here for DFO area map tailored to each area

Summarized limits by species for each area - Areas 15-16 (tap to open)
SpeciesAreasDaily limitMin sizeNotes
Salmon
Chinook15-16262cm-
Chum15-16430cm-
Coho15, 16-1 to 16-4, 16-6 to 16-22230cmmax 2 hatchery-marked; max 0 wild
Pink15-16430cm-
Sockeye15-160 (non-retention)30cm-
Finfish other than salmon
Codfish15-168--
Eulachon15-160 (closed)--
Finfish - all other species15-1620--
Greenling15-163--
Halibut15-162--
Herring15-1620kg--
Lingcod15-160 (closed)--
Mackerel15-16100--
Northern Anchovy15-1620kg--
Pacific sand lance15-165kg--
Pacific sardine15-16100--
Rockfish - Yelloweye15-160 (non-retention)--
Rockfish - all species except Yelloweye15-160 (closed)--
Sablefish15-164--
Sculpin15-168--
Shark - Basking15-160 (closed)--
Shark - Blue15-160 (closed)--
Shark - Brown Cat15-160 (closed)--
Shark - Great White15-160 (closed)--
Shark -15-161--
Shark - Sixgill15-160 (closed)--
Shark - Tope15-160 (closed)--
Shark - all other species15-160 (closed)--
Skate15-161--
Smelt15-1620kg--
Sole or Flounder15-168--
Spiny Dogfish15-160 (non-retention)--
Surfperch15-168--
Tuna - Albacore15-1620--
Tuna - Pacific bluefin15-1620--
Tuna - all other species15-1620--
White Sturgeon15-160 (non-retention)--
Wolf Eel15-160 (non-retention)--
Trout15-16230cmmax 2 hatchery-marked; max 0 wild
Bivalve shellfish (clams, oysters, scallops...)
Clam - Butter15-1620--
Clam - Horse15-166--
Clam - Littleneck15-1660--
Clam - Manila15-1660--
Clam - Razor15-1612--
Clam - Softshell15-1625--
Clam - Varnish15-1660--
Clam - all species combined15-1660--
Cockles15-1625--
Geoduck15-163--
Mussel - Blue15-1675--
Mussel - California15-1625--
Mussels - all species combined15-1675--
Oyster - Olympia15-160--
Oyster - all species except Olympia15-1612--
Scallop - Pink and Spiny15-1675--
Scallop - Purple-hinged rock15-166--
Scallop - Weathervane15-166--
Scallop - Weathervane and Purple-hinged rock combined15-166--
Snail - Moon15-162--
Snail - other15-1675--
Whelks15-1675--
Crab
Crab - Box15-161--
Crab - Dungeness15-164165mm-
Crab - Dungeness and Red Rock combined15-164--
Crab - King15-160 (closed)--
Crab - Puget Sound King15-161--
Crab - Red Rock15-164115mm-
Crab - Shore15-1625--
Crab - other15-164--
Other shellfish + invertebrates (shrimp, prawns, octopus...)
Abalone15-160 (closed)--
Barnacles - Giant15-166--
Barnacles - Goose15-162kg--
Invertebrates - all other species15-1620--
Limpet15-1675--
Octopus15-161--
Sand Dollar15-166--
Sea Cucumber15-1612--
Sea Star or Starfish15-166--
Sea Urchin15-1612--
Shellfish - all other species15-1620--
Shrimp - Ghost15-1650--
Shrimp including prawn15-16125--
Squid - Opal15-16200--
Squid - all other species15-1620--
Salmon
Coho16-5430cm-

Coming up on the water

November 2026

December

January

In the news - noteworthy reads

Updated daily

Guides, charters, lodges and local tackle shops

Free listings - local guides, charters, lodges and independent tackle shops serving this region. No paid placement or implied endorsement.

FeaturedGulf Rascal ChartersCharter - Pender Harbour. Fishing, tours and spot prawns from Pender Harbour. BC Fishing ChartersCharter - Sunshine Coast. Salmon charters along the coast. Dave's Sport FishingCharter - Sunshine Coast. Charter fishing on the Sunshine Coast.

Run a guide, charter, lodge or independent local tackle shop in this region? Get listed free: [email protected]

Tips and techniques - by species

Chinook salmon

Coho salmon

Halibut

Prawns

Bottomfish

Unusual fish observations and research

AI-generated summaries · checked October 14, 2026. Historical records and scientific findings are dated below. No live animal tracking or unverified social-media sightings.

Sixgill sharks: Strait of Georgia stands out in a BC model

A DFO study modelled four shark species at 3 km resolution. Bluntnose sixgill sharks had their highest predicted occurrence in the Strait of Georgia; blue and Pacific sleeper sharks were more likely along the continental slope. These are modelled distributions, not sightings, abundance counts or current locations. Predictions fix the year at 2014 and omit some depths and seasons.

DFO / Proudfoot et al. research; dataset published December 6, 2024, covering 2006-2023. Open Government Licence - Canada.

DFO shark model, methods and uncertainty

DFO: report a shark encounter in BC. Observe without approaching or disturbing wildlife.

Salmon returns analysis and hatchery data by region

DFO data · AI-generated summaries

Choose a salmon species and river. Each bar shows one year: taller means more fish. The latest reported year is orange. These are selected monitored populations, not a complete regional census.

Checked October 14, 2026. Annual history: NuSEDS June 1, 2026 snapshot, with population-specific latest years up to 2025. This is not a live 2026 return estimate. Gaps are not zero; reported DFO estimates are not invented counts.

Loading species charts...

Hatchery plans and reported production

2026 brood plan dated August 18, 2026. Many plan rows are Preliminary. Release timing depends on species and stage; a brood year is not a return year. Post-season reports dated February 19, 2026 cover 2023 and 2024 broods. The 2024 cohort has incomplete smolt releases. Juvenile output is not adult return, marine survival or proof of recovery.

Chapman Cr - young salmon releases

Chinook

2023 released
14,147
2024 released
65,966
2026 plan
65,000

Young salmon by brood year. 2024 is incomplete. Orange: 2026 primary release plan, not actual.

Reported releases only; some source rows are blank.

DFO figures and notes

2026 brood primary release target: 65,000 juveniles. Stages: Smolt 0+. Objectives: Harvest. Plan row status: Preliminary. Transfers and alternate strategies excluded from this target.

2023 brood: reported actual releases 14,147. On rows with both numbers, 14,147 released against 65,000 targeted (22%). This measures reported juvenile production only.

2024 brood: reported actual releases 65,966. 1 row(s) have no reported actual; these are not counted as zero. This measures reported juvenile production only.

DFO production notes

Released as fed fry

Chum

2024 released
4,132
2026 plan
180,000

Young salmon by brood year. 2024 is incomplete. Orange: 2026 primary release plan, not actual.

DFO figures and notes

2026 brood primary release target: 180,000 juveniles. Stages: Fed Fry. Objectives: Rebuilding. Plan row status: Preliminary. Transfers and alternate strategies excluded from this target.

2024 brood: reported actual releases 4,132. On rows with both numbers, 4,132 released against 180,000 targeted (2%). This measures reported juvenile production only.

Coho

2023 released
18,140
2026 plan
50,000

Young salmon by brood year. 2024 is incomplete. Orange: 2026 primary release plan, not actual.

DFO figures and notes

2026 brood primary release target: 50,000 juveniles. Stages: Smolt 1+. Objectives: Harvest. Plan row status: Preliminary. Transfers and alternate strategies excluded from this target.

2023 brood: reported actual releases 18,140. On rows with both numbers, 18,140 released against 50,000 targeted (36%). This measures reported juvenile production only.

Pink

2023 released
106,940
2026 plan
0

Young salmon by brood year. 2024 is incomplete. Orange: 2026 primary release plan, not actual.

DFO figures and notes

2026 brood primary release target: 0 juveniles. Stages: Unfed. Objectives: Rebuilding. Plan row status: Preliminary. Transfers and alternate strategies excluded from this target.

2023 brood: reported actual releases 106,940. On rows with both numbers, 106,940 released against 240,000 targeted (45%). This measures reported juvenile production only.

Plan context

AI-generated summary: The 2026 brood plan lists Chinook, Chum, Coho, Pink production, with harvest, rebuilding objectives. Targets are planned juvenile releases, not adult returns. Compare the post-season rows below for reported production; blanks and incomplete cohorts are not failures.

Sources, coverage and how to read these charts
  • AI summaries are derived from the linked DFO records, not written or endorsed by DFO. Checked October 14, 2026; this section is a dated snapshot, not automatic monitoring.
  • Each plotted series keeps one population ID, species, river/run and metric. Natural adult spawners exclude jacks. Where not available, clearly labelled total-return series include categories recorded by DFO. Populations and rivers are never added into a region total.
  • History shown from 2006 to 2025 when available. A population needs at least three reported values and a value from 2020 onward. Type 6 presence/absence and no-survey rows are not plotted as numeric abundance. Conflicting duplicate population-year records are omitted. Blanks remain gaps.
  • Final, Near Final and Preliminary estimates are labelled in the point details and table. Methods and quality differ; a reported estimate is not necessarily an exact census. Changes in effort, methods and missing surveys limit trend comparisons.
  • Pink odd/even lines preserve parity. Four-year calendar blocks are a viewing aid, not an assumption that Chinook, coho, chum or every sockeye population returns on a fixed four-year cycle. No values are projected beyond the source.
  • Hatchery targets cover primary juvenile release events only; no transfer double counting or alternate-strategy targets. Post-season totals exclude alternate strategies; percentages use only rows with both target and actual.2024 is incomplete, so comparing its total directly with2023 would mislead. Target attainment alone does not establish ecological success.
  • DFO NuSEDS dataset, source files and dictionary
  • DFO current plan,2023 and 2024 post-season source tables and caveats
  • How DFO plans hatchery production · DFO hatchery and spawning-channel directory
  • Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Source: Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Source terms linked in the footer. No DFO endorsement is implied.

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Wind, waves and swell (Windy)

Check the regs yourself before you fish. Openings, closures and limits change without notice, sometimes mid-season and area by area. Everything here is an aggregation for convenience, not an official source. Always confirm the current rules for your specific management area directly with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (saltwater / salmon) and the B.C. Freshwater Fishing Regulations before you go.