Canada's Department of Fisheries has confirmed an Atlantic salmon was caught off Vancouver Island over the weekend, and 2 more may have been.
The confirmed catch was west of Port Renfrew. Of the 2 unconfirmed there are reports of one near Sooke and the other near Esquimalt. The fish are believed to be from the Atlantic salmon escape from a Washington State fish farm last week.
DFO says they aren't taking the same approach as the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, which encourages anglers to fish for as many Atlantic salmon as they can after the farmed fish escaped from a Washington State aquaculture facility on Cypress Island.
The DFO says such a strategy will put increased pressure on Canadian stocks of chinook and sockeye. Instead Canadian authorities encourage anglers who catch an Atlantic salmon to report it to the toll-free Atlantic Salmon Watch number at 1-800-811-6010. They also ask for donation of carcasses for scientific study.
Under BC Sport Fishing Regulations Atlantic salmon are not categorized as "salmon" under BC Sport Fishing Regulation, they are called "unlisted finfish".
As such, anglers are allowed to keep 20 of these fish per day, with no size limit. But they must be caught only areas open to fishing for native salmon. Fishing for any salmon in closed areas is not allowed in order to reduce pressures on struggling Pacific salmon species.