jeprli - The western silvery minnow is restricted to a very small portion of Southern Alberta. It is considered to be At Risk/May be At Risk(I am not sure of the current status). But that is the reason it is on the except list. Making it illegal to use as bait.
Goldfish and Carp are also on that list. While these species are not at risk(there are other reasons), they are not to be used as bait either.
Hope that clears it up for you.
Wayne was right twice in this thread.
My last post on this. (if you dont count the edits- mods can I get an open ended edit?
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edit: As to CO's stating it is ok, they were mistaken. Its right in the regs!
You can and should get a ticket if you use carp for bait!
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