Special Harvest Licences

A Special Harvest Licence (SHL) is a way to share fish among Albertans when there are not enough fish for everyone to be able to keep their catch. Helping populations support themselves or recover ensures the sustainability of these fish populations and fisheries. This management tool is currently only used for walleye.

These licences are available through a draw system, similar to Alberta’s hunting licence application and draw process. Tags are provided to anglers with a licence and are used to harvest legal-sized walleye.

Learn more about how Special Harvest Licences work and why we need them:

Special Harvest Licence Fact Sheet

Changes to the 2022-2023 Special Harvest Licences for Walleye

Many stakeholders have expressed support for changes to the walleye Special Harvest Licence program. Here are key aspects of the Special Harvest Licence program in the 2022-23 sportfishing season:

If successfully drawn, a Special Harvest Licence holder receives 2 walleye tags for Class A (>50 cm) or Class B (43 – 50cm).
Class C licences (2 tags for <43 cm walleye) are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
NEW in 2022-23: Anglers will be able to purchase a second SHL licence as of July 15.
- If you purchased a Class A licence (drawn or undersubscribed), you can purchase a second Class B or Class C supplemental licence.
- If you purchased a Class B licence (drawn or undersubscribed), you can purchase a second Class A or Class C supplemental licence.
- If you purchased a Class C licence (first-come, first-served), you can purchase a second Class A or B supplemental licence.
Walleye electronic tagging postponed

We regret to inform anglers that the planned electronic tag (e-tag) pilot has been postponed. There are licence system configuration challenges that cannot be resolved in time to make e-tagging an effective option for the 2022-2023 season.
We continue to work on the e-tagging option and will update anglers when it is available.

Draw Application Process

Draw Application Period is Tuesday March 29, 2022 to Thursday April 21, 2022.
Draw applications can be purchased online on the AlbertaRELM website or at Licence Issuers.
Application cost is $3.35 (plus GST) and is non-refundable.
To Purchase online, visit:

AlbertaRELM
Alberta Residents can apply for a licence for each of the two larger size classes of walleye, but are only drawn for one.
The applicant can specify up to three waterbody preferences on each licence draw application (within each draw, state 1st, 2nd and 3rd lake choices).
Once drawn, the applicant’s name will be removed from successive draws.

Please log into AlbertaRELM to view the class and number of opportunities available.

AlbertaRELM

2022-2023 Waterbodies

In the 2022-2023 fishing season, Special Harvest Licences for walleye are available for:

2022-23	Class A Licenses for >50 cm walleye Draw application or undersubscribed	Class B Licences for 43-50 cm walleye Draw application or undersubscribed	Class C Licences for <43 cm walleye First-come, first-served
Amisk Lk	Yes	Yes	Yes
Baptiste Lk	Yes	Yes	Yes
Crawling Valley	Yes	Yes	No
Ethel Lk	Yes	No	No
Fawcett Lk	Yes	Yes	Yes
Gregoire Lk	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hilda Lk	No	Yes	Yes
Lac Ste. Anne	Yes	Yes	Yes
Long Lk	Yes	Yes	Yes
Moose Lk	Yes	No	No
Newell Lk	Yes	Yes	No
Pigeon Lk	Yes	Yes	No
Seibert Lk	Yes	Yes	Yes
Shiningbank Lk	Yes	Yes	No
Wabamun Lk	No	No	Yes
Wadlin Lk	No	Yes	No
Whitefish Lk	No	Yes	No
Wolf Lk	Yes	Yes	Yes