The original habitat of the Canadian halibut (Atlantic Halibut) is the waters of the North Atlantic. The wild population is not large, and the main production area is on the Atlantic coast of Canada, of which the waters of Nova Scotia are more abundant. It is a popular high-grade edible fish, halibut meat is thick and rich in protein, called the sea steak, in europe, America and Japan and other developed countries in the haute cuisine is very popular high-end seafood. The Atlantic Halibut fishery has been booming in recent years, with export sales of fresh halibut alone exceeding $90 million in 2020, according to the Atlantic Halibut Council.
It's common to release small fish that don't grow up, but have you ever heard of big fish being released? CBC
Release big fish or small fish
In our perception, it is a matter of course that fishermen need to release small-sized seafood (juveniles), but Nell den Heyer, a research scientist at the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceanography, has a different opinion: "The release of juvenile fish does not mean much for the prosperity of the entire population, because in the cruel food chain of the ocean, the chances of survival of small fish are not high." Large stocked fish, especially fertile females, are more conducive to the continuation of the population, because they are more viable and have matured sexually and will spawn and reproduce every once in a while."
A Canadian halibut commercial fishing company was intrigued by his views and was willing to fund his investigation into the survival rates of Atlantic halibut released after being caught between the Great Shoal of Newfoundland and the George Shoal in southern Nova Scotia.
Longlines do less damage to halibut nationalfisherman
Atlantic halibut is a more valuable seafood, in order to maintain the integrity of the fish, usually use longline fishing instead of trawling, the fish is still alive after catching, and can be released.
This is a study of fishing rules
Gary Dedrick, also a founding member of the Atlantic Halibut Council, expressed support for the survey: "Based on my observations of halibut over the years, Mr. Hayel's view is logical because a large proportion of the halibut we catch are female. But I'm not sure if these big fish will survive and thrive in the sea after release, so we need to do further investigation and count the remaining lifespans of the released big fish. ”
The survival status of halibut after release requires long-term observation and judgment espacepourlavie.ca
Until spring 2021, a total of 150 Canadian halibut that have been caught by fishermen and released will be labeled as a state-of-life observer and followed for three years. Movement information about individual halibut stored in the observer will be accepted by the Halifax-based Ocean Tracking Network and uploaded to the network.
It is one of seven scientific projects by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in cooperation with the Commission on Halibut of the Atlantic, which cost $4.2 million. Industry invested a million dollars. The remaining funding comes from the federal government's Atlantic Fisheries Fund.
Den Hayer said: "We will be very interested in their survival after release, and I am eager to know whether the viability and reproduction of these released big fish will be affected by being caught by humans." If my point is true, then our current fishing rules will change in the future!
The story of the comeback of the Canadian halibut
In the mid-1990s, halibut populations were at their lowest point due to overfishing. It was then that the Atlantic Halibut Council was established. Led by the Council, small boat fishermen, in partnership with commercial fishing companies, agreed to manage Canada's halibut fishery in a sustainable manner.
Since then, as a result of continued improvements in living conditions and a catch quota system, the population of Halibut in Canada has rebounded, but the fishing industry has voluntarily limited its catch to levels that ensure continued stock growth.
"All we're seeing now is a huge increase in halibut stocks, but we still have to be wary of overfishing," Dedrick said.
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