Halibut Caught in Georgia Strait

So, food for thought so to speak.

If we are lucky enough to pick one up, should we keep it??

I'm not going to say anything against anyone that does, but if they appear to be coming back, should we do our best to help them along, or do we keep the incidental catch or even target them before they get a firm grip in the strait?

Thoughts and comments?
 
I would say keep the smaller ones, but if you get anything over 40 pounds let her go as there is a good chance its a female. Just my opinion.

-Steve
 
Few years ago i would have said conserve them .....now with all the B.S. that we all have had to dael with DFO and the fight with them go for it as its part of the TAC so you are allowed to.

GOOD luck go get em Wolf
 
I could be wrong here but isn't the 'morph-into-a-female' weight actually 80-LBS or bigger?

If anyone knows for certain, some clarification would be useful for the conservation-minded.
 
There maybe more around than we realize.
Incidental catches over actually targeting them kinda proves this to me.
I would keep one for sure!
 
quote:I could be wrong here but isn't the 'morph-into-a-female' weight actually 80-LBS or bigger?

Huh??? Prawns are switch-hitters , not halibut. No cross dressing here! :D

Intruder2-2.jpg


20ft Alumaweld Intruder
 
quote:Originally posted by Cuba Libre

quote:I could be wrong here but isn't the 'morph-into-a-female' weight actually 80-LBS or bigger?

Huh??? Prawns are switch-hitters , not halibut. No cross dressing here! :D

Intruder2-2.jpg


20ft Alumaweld Intruder
But always be suspicious of anyone who's eyeball moves from one side of their head to the other [}:)]:D



God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling - Izaak Walton
 
If I caught a hali in an area where hali aren't normally found, I'd keep it quiet and let them recover. Give it a few years, then start bragging. The Harbor Chandler's 'Halibut Club' is obviously just a marketing tactic to get people in the store. And I'm not a fan of the idea of a 'leader board' for the largest halibut taken. Just encourages targeting the big ones. Anyone that understands basic halibut reproduction should be offended by the removal of the big females.

Just my thoughts. Hehe, now who'll be the first to jump all over this? :D
 
quote:Originally posted by Sangstercraft
[br.....The Harbor Chandler's 'Halibut Club' is obviously just a marketing tactic to get people in the store. And I'm not a fan of the idea of a 'leader board' for the largest halibut taken. Just encourages targeting the big ones. Anyone that understands basic halibut reproduction should be offended by the removal of the big females.

Just my thoughts. Hehe, now who'll be the first to jump all over this?
Not me. I agree completely, the Hali Club is just a stupid marketing gimmick from someone with little imagination and less ethics.

billreidsalmon.jpg
 
Have to agree Hali Club on the inside here dumb idea, definately agree on letting those big females go especially on the inside where stocks are low and they are no good to eat anyhow. I think the females are usually over 50 lbs not 40 could be wrong there but thats what ive been told.

kittyjuly1409055-1.jpg
 
I gotta say, I don't think a handful of guys fishing halibut on the inside is going to make any difference at all. Halibut are migratory and there is A LOT of deep water for them to hide in.

Its not like a cod where the fish has lived its entire life on one rock pile. That fish you catch of nanaimo could have came down from the port hardy for all we know. If I was going to fish em, I'd be on anchor on some rock pile close to where it drops off to 1000' feet in the straight and I wouldn't feel bad about bonking one at all.

For the females it used to be 100lbs+ was female, then 80lbs was the magic number, then 70, then 50 now 40lbs? Come on guys they aren't ALL females ya know. In norway they have recorded male halibut to over 170lbs.

The point being is, yes larger fish tend to have a greater chance of being female, but lets not treat them like they are rare and can't be harvested. Sportsfishermen take a tiny percentage of the total biomass of halibut - don't let anybody guilt you into not targeting them.

I've been lucky enough to tag into maybe a half dozen or so over 100lbs - been there done that, the meat is chewy and I'll doubt I'll take another one that big. But if someone else wants a trophy go for it, it isn't going to make one bit of difference to their abundance.

Everybody wants to say release big halibut, but chinook are crashing in some of our rivers and I don't hear anybody promoting releasing mature springs?

http://www.fishingvancouverisland.org - Win an 8-Hour WCVI Charter!
 
X 2

Used to think of letting a 100lber go but not since DFO has turned me the other way with they have screwed us in the last 3 years if its part of our TAC take it!!!!!!
Do you think a commercial boy will I HARDLY doubt it


Wolf
 
And as Poppa indicated already, releasing a large female hali in Georgia St. does not mean this female will lay eggs in Georgia St. and its offsprings will repopulate the area. Halis spawn in depths of 3000' and greater which they only find offshore in the open Pacific. Nothing says the offsprings of that female will migrate back to Georgia St where their mother once enjoyed your acquaintance. Halis follow the food and should herring and other forage fish come back to historic levels in Georgia St. I bet you will quickly see the hali population rebound again since their seems to be no recruitment problem among the hali population.
 
Wonder how long before the Fish Farm Industry tries to claim responsibility for the return? ;)And then claim the halis ate all the Fraser sockeye fry. :D LOL
However back to being serious, it is nice too see that they seem to have returned up and down the strait. Now if we could get the Herring fishery from fishing for roe we could see some rebuilding of bait to the inside waters.
 
Just did a quick search on Halibut to find out more info on where/when they spawn. Not sure if it is valid for Southern BC, but this Alaska site
http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/Statewide/halibut/
states the following:

"Halibut spawn at depths of 600 to 1,500 feet from November through March. Female halibut release anywhere from a few thousand to 4 million eggs, depending on the size of the fish. About 15 days later, the eggs hatch and the larvae drift with deep ocean currents."

Based on this, I would think that it's defintely possible they are spawning in the strait.

This is an interesting tidbit as well:

"Halibut are usually on or near the bottom over mud, sand, or gravel banks. Most are caught at depths of 90 to 900 feet, but halibut have been recorded at depths up to 3,600 feet. As halibut mature, they migrate in a clockwise direction in the Gulf of Alaska, countering the drift of eggs and larvae. Halibut tagged in the Bering Sea have been caught as far south as the coast of Oregon, a migration of over 2,000 miles."
 
Speaking of herring in the Strait, although this might be a bit of a side note -- I heard Jim Pattison owns a big part of the commercial fishing fleet - does anyone know if it's for herring or salmon? He's also very entwined with the Liberals, if I remember correctly. The same liberals that are promoting fish farms in Europe. You'd think he would be pissed at that idea.
 
This shows a fairly diverse spawning area so I think there is a good chance for spawners in the Georgia Strait

From November to March, mature halibut concentrate annually on spawning grounds along the edge of the continental shelf at depths from 600 to 1,500 feet (183 to 457 meters). The major Canadian spawning sites include Cape St. James, Langara Island (Whaleback), and Frederick Island. Other reported spawning locations include Goose Islands, Hecate Strait, and Rose Spit. Spawning concentrations also occur in the Bering Sea. In addition to these major grounds, there is reason to conclude that spawning is widespread and occurs in many areas, although not in as dense concentrations as those mentioned above. Evidence to support this conclusion is based on the widespread distribution of ***ually mature halibut during the winter months as indicated by research and commercial fishing.
 
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