Figure 19. Extensive eastward migration of halibut tagged in Bering Sea. 



THE FISHERY 



The Pacific halibut fishery can be divided into three phases; the Indian fishery, 

 the early commercial fishery, and the more recent commercial fishery. 



Indian Fishery 



Halibut, next to salmon, provided subsistence for a number of Pacific Coast 

 Indian tribes, particularly the Makahs of Cape Flattery, the Haidas of the Queen 

 Charlotte Islands, and the Tlingits of Southeastern Alaska. 



Halibut and other marine animals became part of the folklore of these tribes. 

 They were commemorated in carved heraldry on totem poles or painted on head 

 boards covering the fronts of the large clan or community houses. (See the back 

 cover of this report.) 



The Indian hook-and-line fishery was conducted from large canoes, which 

 ventured as far as 20 miles from shore. These fishermen used well-developed and 

 efficient techniques. The hooks or gorges were often elaborately carved (Figure 20) 

 and were selective of the larger fish. Such fish provided large flitches suitable for dry- 

 ing and smoking purposes. 



The large hook may also have caused the fish to "drown" on capture, thereby 

 permitting them to be more readily taken into the canoe. 



Early Commercial Fishery 



The early commercial fishery is considered to have commenced in 1888 when 

 three sailing vessels from the New England States commenced to fish off Cape 

 Flattery on the northwest coast of Washington Territory. The first car load of 

 halibut was shipped from Tacoma to Boston in 1888 on the newly completed trans- 

 continental railroad. After the 1885 completion of the trans-Canada railroad, 

 Vancouver, British Columbia, became the major center for the fishery by 1892. 



// 



