White sturgeon
How to tell a white sturgeon from the fish it's most often mistaken for, and what you can keep in each BC region.
How to confirm it's a white sturgeon
- Rows of bony plates instead of scales
- Four whiskers under the snout, closer to the tip than the mouth
- Shark-like tail; can grow over 3 m. Release required
White sturgeon quotas by region
Each region's quota rule that covers white sturgeon, in the synopsis' words. Many waters set their own, lower quota or require release; check the water.
Region 1 · Vancouver Island
- Bass: unlimited. Crayfish: 25. Kokanee: 5 (none from streams). White sturgeon: catch and release only. Yellow perch: unlimited. (Haida Gwaii kokanee: 10, none from streams.)
Region 2 · Lower Mainland
- Bass: 20 (excluding Mill Lake). Crappie: 20. Crayfish: 25. Kokanee: 5 (none from streams). Whitefish: 15 (all species combined). White sturgeon: catch and release only.
Region 3 · Thompson-Nicola
- Bass: 0 quota, closed to fishing. Burbot: 2. Crayfish: 25. Kokanee: 5 (none from streams). Whitefish: 15 (all species combined). White sturgeon: catch and release only. Yellow perch: 0 quota, closed to fishing.
Region 4 · Kootenay
- Bass: 0 quota, closed to fishing. Crayfish: 25. Kokanee: 15 (none from streams), no more than 5 over 30 cm. Northern pike, walleye, yellow perch: 0 quota, closed to fishing (see tables for exceptions). White sturgeon: closed to fishing (no exceptions). Whitefish: 15 (all species combined).
Region 5 · Cariboo
- Bass: 0 quota, closed to all fishing. Kokanee: 5 (none from streams). Whitefish: 15 (all species combined). White sturgeon: closed to all fishing in the Fraser River watershed upstream of Williams Lake River; catch and release downstream of and including Williams Lake River; closed in the Fraser River downstream of and including Williams Lake River Sept 15-July 15.
Region 6 · Skeena
- Kokanee: 10 (none from streams). Whitefish: 15 (all species combined). White sturgeon: closed to all fishing.
Region 7A · Omineca
- Arctic grayling: catch and release only. Burbot: 5. Kokanee: 10 (none from streams). White sturgeon: closed to all fishing. Whitefish: 15 (all species combined).
Region 7B · Peace
- No regional quota listed; see the rules for each water.
Region 8 · Okanagan
- No regional quota listed; see the rules for each water.