EASTERN PACIFIC HALIBUT FISHERY, 1888-1966 



By 



F. Heward Bell, Director 

 International Pacific Halibut Commission 

 Fisheries Hall Number 2, University of Washington 

 Seattle, Washington 98105 



The Pacific halibut, Hippoglossus hippoglossus stenolepis (Schmidt), is found on 

 the Continental Shelf in boreal waters at temperatures from about 37° to 46° F. It is 

 almost indistinguishable from the Atlantic halibut, H. hippoglossus, and any differences 

 are probably varietal rather than specific. 



Its recorded occurrence in the North Pacific extends on the east from Santa Rosa 

 Island, Calif., to Norton Sound in the Bering Sea, across the Continental Shelf in Bering 

 Sea, and off the Asiatic coast from the Gulf of Anadyr to Hokkaido. The North American 

 range of the halibut setline fishery extends 3,000 miles from Northern California to 

 St. Matthew Island in Bering Sea and in depth from about 20 to 2 50 fathoms. 



The halibut is the largest of the flatfish, reaching a recorded maximum size of 

 495 pounds in the eastern Pacific- -the present average landed size is about 30 to 35 

 pounds. The females are faster growing, and no male over 123 pounds has been caught to 

 date. All data quoted in this text and accompanying tables refer to eviscerated heads-off 

 weights. 



From November to March, spawning concentrations of halibut occur at numerous 

 locations along the edge of the Continental Shelf at depths from about 175 to 225 fathoms. 

 The average age when the fish first become mature is about 12 years for females and 

 probably 8 years for males. A large female may produce 2 to 3 million eggs annually. 



The fertilized and developing eggs rising to mid- water levels hatch in about 15 days, 

 and the postlarvae are transported many hundreds of miles by westward moving ocean 

 currents. Thus the floating eggs are dispersed westward all along the coasts of British 

 Columbia and Alaska and into the Bering Sea. 



After about 6 months the postlarvae, having risen into the surface inshore drift, 

 commence their bottom existence on the shoal sections of the shelf. The 1- to 3-year-old 

 juveniles tend to remain on inshore grounds, then move offshore where they first enter 

 the commercial setline fishery in significant numbers at about 5 to 7 years of age. 



The Pacific fishery began in 1888 off Cape Flattery, Wash. From its inception, 

 the fishery has been a joint venture of the fleets of Canada and the United States. By the 

 turn of the century, the annual catch was about 10 million pounds. The unregulated fishery 

 expanded rapidly, and in 1915 the catch reached 69 million pounds. Thereafter, in spite of 

 increases in fishing effort and extension of the fishery throughout the commercial range 

 of the halibut, the production declined to 44 million pounds by 1931. 



On the basis of the declines in yields from the longer fished grounds, the industry 

 advocated control of the fishery as early as 1915. Subsequent declines from newer 

 grounds and end of World War I led to the eventual signing in 1923 and the .ratification in 

 1924 of a halibut convention by the United States and Canada. The convention was directed 

 chiefly to an investigation of the resource and development of measures for its rehabili- 

 tation. It established a joint commission now known as the International Pacific Halibut 

 Commission. 



Under the subsequent conventions of 1930, 1937, and 1953, regulations have been 

 enacted each year since 1932. Those regulations have resulted in a threefold increase in 

 size of the stocks on the grounds since 1932 and have enabled the fishery to make increased 

 annual catches with progressively less fishing effort. 



Landings by United States and Canadian fleets by sections of the coast are shown 

 (in thousands of pounds) in table 3. The changing relative importance of each section 

 has been influenced by depletion of nearby grounds and their subsequent controlled re- 

 building, changes in the size, structure, and motive power of the fishing vessels, length 

 of the fishing seasons, wartime conditions, relative port prices, and many other con- 

 siderations. 



