Controversary over retaining of large halibut

[Skyvalhunter]

Sounds like there is alot of stink in the fishing community over the retention of a large halibut caught recently. Some people felt the angler should have released the fish because the large ones are the baby factories. Theres a call for releasing of the large ones.
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/reeltimenorthwest/2014/05/29/photos-mammoth-halibut-caught-in-eastern-strait-of-juan-de-fuca/

[h20hunter]

Not a doubt in my mind. I would have been doing the same thing. Hook, harpoon, shoot, bleed, filet, eat.

[rover758]

 

Hate Hein Bank.  Lost two anchors up there - my own fault.  Even in Alaska I've never boated one in the 100 pound + range.  One day .... one day.  (Three of us brought home about 70 pounds each of fillets from fishing last weekend so I guess I can't complain too much.)

[bearpaw]

If the big ones need to be saved then WDFW should create a slot size limit to save the big ones like with sturgeon. If the current style of management is ensuring a lasting fishery then I don't see a problem.

The guy did everything right, congrats to him on taking a fantastic fish. 

[pianoman9701]

Sour grapes. Half those hosers would have kept that fish if they'd caught it. Damned nice fish. 

[steeleywhopper]

WDFW does not give sport anglers enough of a season to even put a tiny dent in our breeder Halibut.

[Mfowl]

I'd be torn to keep a fish like that. It would be hard to let it swim off but I've heard that they are not the best eating also. If fishing was good and I thought I'd get an eater I might have to release it. I've also heard that the biggest 'buts are not the  prime breeders that everyone believes them to be. They are actually past their prime and though they still produce eggs they are not as prolific as the fish in smaller size classes. Anyway, good catch to those involved!

[Atroxus]

I am confused on the logic of maximum fish size rules. I would think that ideally you would want to figure out how long the average fish needs to live to sustain or grow their populations, along with their average length at that age, then set a minimum length based on that knowledge. For example, and these numbers are completely made up and likely have no bearing in reality...if we could sustain or grow halibut numbers by letting all halibut reach 36 inches, we should set laws that anything below that length needs to be released, and anything above that length can be kept. Or am I missing something? Do halibut suddenly start producing twice the number of eggs at a certain size, then sustain that until they die? 

[WSU]

I don't know what I think about this topic because I don't know enough about Washington's season structure.  Are sportfishers catching enough to actually make a dent in the breeder population?  The majority of the catch is allocated to commercial fishers, so if anything, they should have size restrictions.  It would really be unfair to restrict sports but not commercials (although that happens all the time in the great state of Washington under WDFW).

[Skyvalhunter]

It is my understanding and I am sure people will correct me if I am wrong that like Ling cod the larger fish are the ones that produce the most off spring. So in keeping those we possibly impact future fishing populations. I also understand the long liners(commercial) have more of an impact than sport fishermen.

[RB]

Not a doubt in my mind. I would have been doing the same thing. Hook, harpoon, shoot, bleed, filet, eat.

Yup! and share with my family members. The meat on the bigger ones is not as delicate as the smaller ones it has more grain to it, the smaller ones are smoother and really can taste like chicken if prepared a certain way. Wish I could have had more than one afternoon to Halibut fish again this year maybe next year will be the year 

[snowpack]

I've heard that after about 40 inches all halibut are likely female, and that as they get bigger they carry more and more eggs.  Whether or not it is twice as much as a halibut half the weight I can't recall. 

[MADMAX]

Sour grapes. Half those hosers would have kept that fish if they'd caught it. Damned nice fish. 

 
gun harpoon gaff and done

[MooseStock]

Nice Fish....that thing may have weighed more then they thought....73 inches on most halibut charts rates out to about 204-205 lbs. Don't blame him a bit for keeping it....if they want to make rules for the commercials as well as the sports guys then OK...we will live with it like we do hatchery only King retention. Most of those commercials catch them on the long lines so they are probably dead when they come up some of the time so it probably won't happen...............Les

[Dansk]

Canada has a max length, so i can see wa going to similar system.  Also up for proposal is going to a draw/tag system and letting you fish over a liberal season for your (one?) fish.  Fact is, we have a derby system- sporters catch as much as we can over just a few days until harvest targets (pounds) are "met".  Fishery is only open for a few days each year, so IF you can get out on the water and IF you hook a halibut, and IF you land it, you'd be crazy not to keep it.

I wonder how many of the sour grapers tell thier waiter at anthony's, or the person behind the seafood counter to only give them fillets from a fish under XX pounds. 

BTW- My buddy said that fish ate just like the small ones...

[Bigshooter]

I have no problem with the guy keeping it.  I perfer to eat the smaller ones though.  I have eaten a few from alaska pushing 200lbs and I didn't care for them.

[Bullkllr]

Sounds like there is alot of stink in the fishing community over the retention of a large halibut caught recently. Some people felt the angler should have released the fish because the large ones are the baby factories. Theres a call for releasing of the large ones.
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/reeltimenorthwest/2014/05/29/photos-mammoth-halibut-caught-in-eastern-strait-of-juan-de-fuca/

Is there more than this? Or does a couple negative comments on a website constitute a controversy?

[BOWHUNTER45]

One of the best years in along time for halibut ..friends of mine in Anacortes just put the hurtin to them this year ..Dandy fish 

[RadSav]

It is my understanding and I am sure people will correct me if I am wrong that like Ling cod the larger fish are the ones that produce the most off spring. So in keeping those we possibly impact future fishing populations. I also understand the long liners(commercial) have more of an impact than sport fishermen.

That is true to some extent.  The main difference between halibut and ling cod is the concentration of spawning and sport fishing.  A large female ling will lay her eggs on a particular shallow reef and repopulate a large portion of that reef and perhaps nearby reefs.  These eggs cling to the rocks or vegetation and stay in that environment.  If it happens to be a popular fishing spot that one large female may be responsible for years of good productive fishing.  And if she is taken out of the breeding population it could have a direct effect on the fishing in that region for quite some time.

Halibut also increase egg production with size and age.  But they are not reef hatchers.  Most halibut spawning is done in very deep water outside the continental shelf maybe 200 to 300 fathoms in depth.  A mature female might lay between two and three million eggs in this deep water and they hatch in about 15 days.  These eggs or larvae at this point are free floating and have been recorded as traveling hundreds of miles over the course of six months before mature enough to establish a home.  So repopulation in a specific area has more to do with ocean currents than spawning in a particular area. 

So while keeping a large female may definitely reduce the number of eggs laid in the ocean each year by a million or so this doesn't necessarily mean it will effect halibut densities in a favored fishing spot. In fact, chances are it won't effect that spot at all.  It may not even effect the straights if currents change in that particular year.  That is not the case with ling cod.  And why it is much more important to release lingcod over 40# than a large halibut that may or may not be a female.

And relative speaking, that 192# fish in the article isn't really all that big.  Probably not even consistent with the age and spawning equivalent of a 40# ling.  I release every ling cod I catch over 25#!  Have since I was a teenager.  But, I would have whacked that barn door just the same as the chickens laying next to it!

[mkcj]

If the big ones need to be saved then WDFW should create a slot size limit to save the big ones like with sturgeon. If the current style of management is ensuring a lasting fishery then I don't see a problem.

The guy did everything right, congrats to him on taking a fantastic fish. 

 

[Angus]

Though my preference is the little guys, 50lbs>, I don't have any problem with sportsmen keeping big fish. In the grand scheme of things, the amount of fish sportsman take compared to the commercial fleet is a tiny drop in the bucket, a few big fish, especially when were talking 100's of metric tons taken by the commercial fleet, makes no difference.
Don't even get me started on commercial bycatch, the wastage there will make you,