Anglers in British Columbia will soon be able to purchase freshwater fishing licences through the same online platform used by the province for hunting licences.
Starting this fall, free Fish and Wildlife IDs will be available through B.C.’s Wildlife Information and Licensing Data (WILD) system.
Anglers will require a Fish and Wildlife ID to buy freshwater fishing licences when sales open on WILD next spring.
Residents of Canada will also be able to use their BC Services Card to log into the WILD platform beginning this fall. Currently, users access WILD using a Basic BCeID.
Non-Canadian residents will continue to use a Basic BCeID to access the platform.
B.C. launched the WILD platform in 2016. The province said the system has improved public access to hunting applications and allowed the government to process applications faster.
Over the past five years, roughly 93 per cent of all limited-entry hunting applications and 30 per cent of all hunting licences have been purchased online through WILD.
“Expanding WILD to include freshwater fishing licence sales will further streamline the licensing process for stakeholders and government, improve data collection, and support informed decision-making for fish and wildlife management,” the Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship said in a statement.
The province estimates about 350,000 anglers fish in B.C. each year.
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