Evidence • Verification • Accuracy
Fact-Checking Policy
The checks we use for licence categories, official links, dates, fees, exceptions and fishing restrictions before presenting them to readers.
What counts as a reliable fishing-rule source?
Licence requirements can affect where, when and how a person fishes. We therefore put the strongest weight on materials issued by the public authority that controls the relevant fishery: an applicable state or territorial agency, provincial department, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, or another competent official body.
Our preferred evidence includes publicly accessible regulation text, current angling summaries, government notices, official permit instructions, agency licensing portals, published fee schedules, agency FAQs, and documents linked from those sources. A blog, forum, retailer or search result can reveal a question worth investigating, but should not be the sole authority for a legal requirement.
What reviewers check
- Jurisdiction: Is the information for the correct U.S. state, Canadian province or territory, waterbody, management area, species and type of fishing?
- Licence or permit: Does the user need a basic licence, supplemental tag, conservation card, stamp, registration or another authorization?
- Eligibility and exemptions: Do age, residence, disability, veteran status, treaty rights, private-water rules or other exceptions affect the answer? We do not generalize exceptional cases.
- Fees: Are the amount, currency, licence duration and resident/nonresident classification clear? Could transaction fees apply?
- Timing: Are the season, effective date, purchase year, expiry date, emergency order or special closure identified correctly?
- Fishing rules: Are size limits, daily limits, possession limits, gear methods and species-specific restrictions described for the correct area?
- Links and steps: Do official links point to an appropriate agency page, and do instructions match the publicly visible process?
- Clarity: Could readers confuse a general rule with a local exception, an illustrative example with a regulation, or our guidance with official agency advice?
How a claim is confirmed
- Identify the responsible authority. We determine which agency governs the specific activity rather than choosing a familiar government website by default.
- Find the current document or portal. We compare dated regulations, official online updates and live instructions when relevant.
- Resolve conflicts. If an older PDF conflicts with a newer rule notice, we investigate the effective date and any superseding order instead of silently choosing one.
- Check the exception. We look for requirements that change by area, season, age, residency, water type or species.
- Write a source-grounded explanation. We link to official material close to the statement or action and avoid saying more than the evidence supports.
- Review before publication. The intended process includes proofreading and a second check of consequential claims and external links.
Evidence limitations and fast-changing rules
Not every authority publishes information in the same format, and some regulations are updated with notices that are separate from the annual rulebook. Link accessibility, agency terminology, and purchase-system screens can also change without warning.
When information cannot be independently confirmed, our approach is to say what remains uncertain and direct the reader to the source. We should not invent exact prices, telephone numbers, office hours, exception lists or processing timelines. Historical information should be clearly labelled instead of presented as current.
Website testing and editorial review do not constitute an official compliance decision. Visitors must follow the authoritative rules applicable at the time and place of fishing.
Checks after publication
We intend to revisit articles when a rule year changes, significant new notices appear, an external link stops working, or a reader provides a credible correction. A visible publication or revision date, where displayed, indicates editorial activity on that page; it does not mean all possible local emergency orders were rechecked that day.
Our Corrections and Updates Policy explains how issues are assessed and addressed. To submit a correction, use Contact Us and include the official source. For an overview of acceptable source types, visit Sources and Methodology.