Stylized illustration
Chinook salmon
Dark gums and a dark mouth; look for spots on both halves of the tail as well as the back.
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BC fish, at a glance.
A visual starting point for the fish in DFO's catch-identification guide. Browse 73 fish entries, then use the official reference to check the details.
Look closely. Confirm before you keep.
These original illustrations are stylized, not diagnostic drawings. Read the features and compare with DFO's photographs and full guide. Colour alone is not enough. This page does not show current openings, limits or retention rules; check Regs separately.
These original illustrations are stylized, not diagnostic drawings. Read the features and compare with DFO's photographs and full guide. Colour alone is not enough. This page does not show current openings, limits or retention rules; check Regs separately.
73 of 73 fish entries
No matches. Try a shorter name or choose All.
Salmon & trout
Start with the mouth, gum line and tail pattern. Spawning colours can change dramatically.
Stylized illustration
Coho salmon
The gum line is pale. Tail spots tend to sit on the upper half, and the tail base is broad.
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Chum salmon
Back and tail lack spots. A narrow tail base and pale anal-fin tip help; spawning fish develop vertical bands.
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Pink salmon
Large oval spots cover both tail lobes. The marine-phase mouth has dark gums; spawning males grow a conspicuous hump.
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Sockeye salmon
No spots on the back or tail, a pale gum line and noticeable glassy eyes. Spawning fish develop red bodies and greenish heads.
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Atlantic salmon
DFO asks anglers to report every capture to 1-800-811-6010. Use the official comparison image to check a suspected Atlantic salmon.
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Cutthroat trout
Heavy spotting runs along the body. The mouth reaches well behind the eye; DFO also notes teeth at the back of the tongue.
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Steelhead trout
A slim profile with small dark back spots and evenly scattered spots across a square tail. No teeth at the back of the tongue.
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Dolly Varden
A small head and long, rounded body. Look for pale leading edges on the lower fins.
Compare with DFO ↗Groundfish & flatfish
Compare body shape, fins and mouth as well as colour. Some close lookalikes need several checks.
Stylized illustration
Lingcod
A broad head, roomy mouth and prominent teeth sit on a mottled body. Unlike Pacific cod, there is no chin barbel.
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Pacific cod
Three separate dorsal fins and a small chin barbel are useful checks. Grey-brown mottling fades toward a pale belly.
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Sablefish
Dark grey to nearly black, with a flat forehead, two dorsal fins and a forked tail. No chin barbel.
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Arrowtooth flounder
A right-eyed flatfish with a large mouth, conspicuous arrow-like teeth and a forked tail.
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Starry flounder
Dark bands cross the dorsal and anal fins. The rough, diamond-shaped body may have eyes on either side.
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Pacific halibut
A thick, marbled flatfish with a large, toothed mouth and slightly forked tail. Eyes are almost always on the right side.
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English sole
A smooth, light-brown diamond shape with a pointed head and small, pointed jaw. Both eyes sit on the right side.
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Rock sole
Rough scales, a small mouth and mottled fins. The lateral line makes a noticeable high arch near the head.
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Pacific sanddab
A left-eyed flatfish with a rounded tail, large eyes and relatively large mouth. The upper side is mottled tan or brown.
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Big skate
Broad wings carry dark eye-like spots. The underside is pale and the back spines begin above the tail.
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Longnose skate
The sharply extended snout is a useful first clue. The upper side is dark brown and the underside grey.
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Kelp greenling
Males can show blue spots; females often have larger orange-brown spots. DFO notes five lateral lines on each side.
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Cabezon
A marbled, broad-headed fish with fleshy flaps above the eyes and on the snout. Colour may be green, brown or red.
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Red Irish lord
A blunt head and red mottling with four dark vertical bands. The notched dorsal fin forms a stepped outline.
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Ratfish
White spots dot a grey-brown body that narrows into a whip-like tail. Take care around the venomous dorsal spine.
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Spiny dogfish
A slim grey-brown shark with two dorsal fins, each preceded by a spine. It has no anal fin.
Compare with DFO ↗Other saltwater fish
From small schooling fish to offshore tuna. Some entries describe a family or group rather than a single species.
Stylized illustration
Surfperch
A deep, side-flattened body, large eyes and small mouth. Markings differ: striped seaperch show blue-gold lines; pile perch have dark bars.
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Herring
A small silver schooling fish with large scales and a blue-green back. DFO describes the mouth as toothless.
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Pacific sardine
A small silver member of the herring family that forms large plankton-feeding schools. Compare closely with other forage fish.
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Mackerel
A streamlined body with small finlets near the tail. Pacific mackerel have several finlets; jack mackerel have just one behind the second dorsal fin.
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Smelt
Small, silver schooling fish found inshore. DFO notes spawning on beaches and in estuaries.
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Sculpin
A group of broad-headed fish with high-set eyes. Pacific staghorn sculpins have pectoral fins with smooth upper edges and sharp lower rays.
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Sole / flounder
Flattened oval or diamond-shaped fish with both eyes on the darker upper side. Check the individual flatfish cards for more detail.
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Albacore tuna
Very long pectoral fins are the standout clue. A dark blue back grades to a pale belly, with a narrow tail base.
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Northern anchovy
The unusually long upper jaw is an important clue. A narrow body has a blue-green back and silver sides.
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A starting point, not a definitive rockfish key. Many species look alike. Use DFO’s full photos and identification features to confirm.
Stylized illustration
Deacon rockfish
A deep blue-black body with dark forehead stripes, speckled sides and blue-tipped pelvic fins.
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Black rockfish
Dark speckles on an elongated blue-black body, with a paler belly and pale patches below the dorsal fin. The anal-fin edge is rounded.
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Brown rockfish
Brown or tan with darker blotches. A dark patch on the gill cover is a helpful feature.
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China rockfish
A dark body scattered with yellow and pale speckles. A yellow stripe runs back from the third dorsal spine.
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Copper rockfish
Colour ranges from olive-brown to copper-yellow. Look for eye bands and a pale stretch along the rear two-thirds of the lateral line.
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Quillback rockfish
A high, deeply notched spiny dorsal fin rises above a dark body. Yellowish saddles stop short of the tail.
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Tiger rockfish
Five dark bars cross a reddish or pale body, and two dark bands radiate from each eye.
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Yelloweye rockfish
Adults have bright yellow eyes and orange-red bodies. Juveniles look very different, with dark red bodies and two pale stripes.
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Bank rockfish
Light red to grey with dark fin membranes, a small mouth and bands spreading outward from the eyes.
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Bocaccio
A long lower jaw projects beyond the upper jaw. Adults vary from orange-red to olive-pink; young fish can be bronze and speckled.
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Canary rockfish
Orange-yellow mottling lies on a pale grey body. Three orange eye bands and pointed orange fins help distinguish it.
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Chilipepper
A slender red to copper-pink fish with a pale belly and a red lateral line.
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Dusky rockfish
Grey to brown, sometimes nearly black, with a grey-pink belly. The anal-fin edge is comparatively upright.
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Greenstriped rockfish
Three or four greenish horizontal stripes run along a slender pink-yellow body, with green striping on the tail.
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Harlequin rockfish
Red with dark blotches, dark dorsal-fin membrane and a pale rear section of the lateral line.
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Northern rockfish
Red mottled with grey and orange above a pale belly, with dark bands radiating from the eyes.
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Puget Sound rockfish
A small, slender red-copper fish with dark blotches and eye bands. DFO lists it as much smaller than many other rockfish.
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Pygmy rockfish
A slender pink-olive body with a pale belly and pink-red fins. Similar-looking small rockfish need a careful official comparison.
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Shortbelly rockfish
A slender pink-olive fish with pale belly and pink-red fins. Do not rely on colour alone to separate it from other small rockfish.
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Silvergray rockfish
Grey-silver with a large, dark-lipped mouth and a pale lateral line. The lower jaw has a conspicuous projecting knob.
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Stripetail rockfish
Pink-red with dusky back patches, large eyes and green streaks through the tail.
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Widow rockfish
Golden-brown to brown, with dark fin membranes and a small mouth. The anal fin slopes upward toward the tail.
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Yellowtail rockfish
Olive-green to brown with yellowish fins and a narrow pale lateral line. The anal-fin edge is nearly vertical.
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Aurora rockfish
Pink-red with strong head spines and lobes on the upper jaw. Close comparison of jaw and fin details matters.
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Blackgill rockfish
A red fish with a dark gill-cover edge and dark mouth interior. Red fins can have black tips.
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Darkblotched rockfish
Four or five dark patches lie across the back of a deep pink-red body.
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Longspine thornyhead
A red, large-headed fish with large eyes and a dark gill chamber. The third dorsal spine is the longest.
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Pacific ocean perch
Red with dark olive blotches across the back and tail base. A pronounced lower-jaw knob is another check.
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Redbanded rockfish
Four broad red bars cross a lighter pink-red body, with one or two red bands radiating from the eyes.
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Redstripe rockfish
Red with olive-yellow mottling, dark lips and a red-pink lateral line. Eye bands are also present.
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Rosethorn rockfish
Yellow-orange with green mottling, a pink belly and four or five pale pink-white spots across the back.
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Rougheye / blackspotted complex
Pink to brown underwater, often brighter red at the surface. Small spines beneath the eyes help separate these fish from similar shortrakers.
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Sharpchin rockfish
Pink-red to yellow with five or six dark back marks and two bands radiating from the eyes.
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Shortraker rockfish
Orange-red with large pores on the lower jaw. DFO distinguishes it from rougheye using short, stubby gill rakers.
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Shortspine thornyhead
Red with large eyes, dark fin markings and a pale gill chamber. The fourth or fifth dorsal spine is longest.
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Splitnose rockfish
A pronounced notch in the upper lip is the key clue. The red body fades to a pale belly.
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Vermilion rockfish
Bright red to grey with grey speckling and orange eye bands. Rounded lower fins often have dark edges.
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Yellowmouth rockfish
Red with yellow-orange tones and darker blotches. The mouth interior includes both dark and yellow areas.
Compare with DFO ↗Sturgeon
Confirm the species using the official guide. Identification is separate from fishing permission.
Stylized illustration
Sturgeon
Five rows of armour-like plates replace ordinary scales. Look for the long snout and four fleshy barbels beside an underslung mouth. B.C. has white and green sturgeon; use DFO's full guide to separate them.
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