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Canada · NT
Northwest Territories
Government of the Northwest Territories — Environment and Climate Change & DFO
Rules change by area and can change mid-season. We explain what the rules mean and always link you to the official source — we never copy a limit table and call it current.
Licences — what you need
- • An NWT sport fishing licence is required and is inexpensive, but Great Slave Lake and other waters also sit under federal sport fishing regulations for the territory.
- • Fishing in national parks (Wood Buffalo, Nahanni) requires Parks Canada permits, and some Indigenous-owned/land-claim waters have access protocols.
How the rules are organized
- • Rules are summarized in the territorial sport fishing guide organized by water body — Great Slave Lake, the Mackenzie system and Great Bear Lake each carry specific notes.
- • Co-management boards under land claims influence fisheries management (notably around Great Bear Lake and the Mackenzie Valley).
Good to know — common mistakes
- • Great Bear Lake is managed as a trophy catch-and-release-oriented fishery with lodge-based access — treat every rule as lake-specific.
- • Barbless hooks are required in several territorial waters and are the default best practice expected by lodges.
- • Ice fishing is a long season reality; check shelter and access rules locally.
- • Arctic grayling, lake trout and inconnu rules vary by water — the guide's water list is short enough to read fully; do it.
Official links
Fishing locations covered in this guide
This page is a plain-language summary, not the law. Regulations change — including in-season by official notice — and if anything here disagrees with the official source, the official source governs.
AnglerPlan is an information service, not a regulator. If anything here disagrees with an official source, the official source wins — and please tell us so we can fix it.