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Welcome To Harbour Hill Bed & Breakfast |
1350 Helen Rd., PO Box 312 Ucluelet, BC, Vancouver Island V0R 3A0 |
Toll Free: 1-877-726-2711 Phone: (250) 726-2717 Email: info@harbourhill.ca |
© Copyright Harbour Hill Bed & Breakfast - Ucluelet Accomodation On The West Coast Of Vancouver Island, British Columbia |
Website Design & Internet Marketing By Black Water Music - Ucluelets Premier Websites |
A West Coast Harbour Bed And Breakfast - Ucluelet Accomodation On The West Coast Of Vancouver Island, British Columbia |
Toll Free: 1-877-726-2711 |
Phone: (250) 726-2717 |
Pacific Halibut Info |
The Pacific halibut, Hippoglossus stenolepis, is a large flatfish found in the northern Pacific Ocean closely related to the Atlantic Halibut. Its range is from the Bering Sea, the Aleutian Islands and Hokkaido, Japan to Baja California, Mexico. The largest reported specimen was 267 cm and they can reach an age of 42 years[1]. They can be found on a range of bottoms. The young individuals are usually found close to the shore, whereas the older individuals prefer deeper water, especially in the winter. It is a voracious predator and feeds on fish, squid, crabs, clams and other invertebrates. It is treasured by fishermen because of its great size and tasty white meat. |
Directed commercial fisheries usually use longline gear but halibut are also caught along with many other bottom-dwelling fish by trawlers. Longline fishers in the U.S. and Canada are required to use circle hooks. Pacific Halibut are also an important sport fish in Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska. Halibut quotas are set annually by the International Pacific Halibut Commission. Washington, British Columbian, and Alaskan native groups also have important halibut fisheries. |
Physical Characteristics |
The Halibut is the largest of all flat fish, with an average weight of about 25 - 30 lb (11 - 13½ kg), but they can grow to be as much as 600 lbs (272kg). The Halibut is blackish-grey on the top side and off-white on the underbelly side. When the Halibut is born the eyes are on both sides of its head so it has to swim like a salmon. After about 6 months one eye will migrate to the other side of its head, making it look more like the flounder. This happens at the same time that the stationary eyed side begins to develop a blackish-grey pigment while the other side remains white. This disguises a halibut from above (blending with the ocean floor) and from below (blending into the light from the sky). |
Halibut feed on almost any animal they can fit in their mouths. Animals found in their stomachs include sand lance, octopus, crab, salmon, hermit crabs, lamprey, sculpin, cod, pollock, herring and flounder. Halibut can be found at depths as shallow as a few meters to hundreds of meters deep, and although they spend most of their time near the bottom, halibut will move up in the water column to feed. In most ecosystems the halibut is near the top of the marine food chain. In the North Pacific the only common predators of halibut are the sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), the orca whale (Orcinus orca), and the salmon shark (Lamna ditropis). |
Diet |
Commercial halibut fishery in the North Pacific dates to the late 19th century and today is one of the largest and most lucrative fisheries in the region. In Canadian and U.S. waters of the North Pacific, halibut are taken by longline, using chunks of octopus ("devilfish") or other bait on circle hooks attached at regular intervals to a weighted line that can extend for several miles across the bottom. Typically the fishing vessel hauls gear after several hours up to a day has passed. Careful international management of Pacific halibut is necessary, as the species occupies the waters of the United States, Canada, Russia, and possibly Japan (known to the Japanese as Ohyo), and is a slow-maturing fish. Halibut do not reproduce until age eight, when they are approximately 30 inches (76 cm) long, so commercial capture of fish below this length is an unsustainable practice and is against U.S. and Canadian regulations. Halibut fishing in the Pacific is managed by the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC). |
Halibut Fishery |
For most of its modern duration, commercial halibut fishery operated as a derby-style fishery where regulators declared time slots when fishing was open (typically 24-48 hours at a time) and fisherman raced to catch as many pounds as they could within that window. This approach accommodated unlimited participation in the fishery while allowing regulators to control the quantity of fish caught annually by controlling the number and timing of openings. The approach frequently led to unsafe fishing as openings necessarily set in advance and fisherman felt compelled economically to leave port virtually regardless of the weather. The approach also provided fresh halibut to the markets for only several weeks each year. In 1995, regulators in the United States implemented a quota-based fishery by allocating individual fishing quotas (IFQs) to existing fishery participants based on each vessel's documented historical catch. IFQs grant holders a specific proportion of each year's total allowable catch (TAC) as determined by regulators and can be fished at any time during the 9-month open season. The IFQ system improved both the safety of the fishery and the quality of the product by providing a stable flow of fresh halibut to the marketplace. Critics of the program suggest that, since IFQs are a saleable commodity and the fish a public resource, the IFQ system gave a public resource to the private sector. Would-be fisherman who were not part of the initial IFQ allocation are also critical of the program saying that the capital costs to fishery entry are now too high. There is also a significant sport fishery in Alaska and British Columbia where halibut are a prized game and food fish. Sport fisherman use large rods and reels with line weights from 80 to 150 pound test, and often bait with herring, large jigs, or even whole salmon heads. Halibut are very strong, thus in both commercial and sport fisheries large halibut (over 50 to 100 pounds (20 to 50 kg)) are often shot or otherwise subdued before they are brought onto the boat. The sport fishery in Alaska is one of the key elements to the state's summer tourism economy. Halibut are typically broiled, deep fat fried or lightly grilled while fresh. The fillets can also be smoked but this method is more difficult with halibut meat than it is with salmon, due to the ultra-low fat content of halibut. Eaten fresh, the meat has a very clean taste and requires little seasoning. Halibut is also noted for its very dense and firm texture, almost more akin to chicken. |
Halibut have been an important food source to Native Americans and Canadian First Nations for thousands of years and continue to be a key element to many coastal subsistence economies. The management of the halibut resource to accommodate the competing interests of commercial, sport, and subsistence users is a contentious current issue. The Atlantic fishery of halibut has been extremely depleted through overfishing to such an extent that it may possibly be declared an endangered species. According to Seafood Watch, Atlantic halibut is currently on the list of seafood that sustainability-minded consumers should avoid. Almost all halibut now bought on the East coast are now Pacific halibut. |
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. |
"Your Bed & Breakfast is beautiful! The Salmon & Halibut fishing was great! We'll be back to visit Ucluelet and the West Coast!" |
"You live in paradise! I never would've thought such a place existed in Canada" |
"Ucluelet is so beautiful with it's long sandy beaches and wildlife! We really enjoyed our stay with you. See you next year!" |
"Surfing out here is world class!" |
"Thanks for cooking our catch, it was delicious! We be back to Harbour Hill next spring." |
"Nice view of the Harbour. Quiet rooms & nice rates. We'll see you soon!" |
"Thanks for the accomodation in your B&B. We had alot of fun! Sad to leave it all..." |
"Wonderful home away from home. Welcome to Saylor. Look foreward to returning!" |
"Thank you for a wonderful place to stay here on the beautiful West Coast!" |
"What a beautiful lifestyle B&B you have on the West Coast!" |