16 IHt KI.SOlK(IS 



OrilKR(;K()lM)HSII 



GriHiiidtish, Dther than halibul, have never figured as 

 importantly in the fisheries of Canada's Pacific coast as 

 thc\ have in many other areas. Nevertheless, catches 

 have heen increasing steadily, and at 60 to 70 million 

 pounds are now triple the landings of" two decades ago. A 

 wide variety of species are taken in this fishery, but 

 catches are dominated by Pacific cod, ocean perch, hake 

 and sabletish. 



Catch records and other data have been collected for 

 several decades, but interest in groundfish stocks 

 remained low until Canadian fisheries jurisdiction was 

 extended to 200 miles in 1977. Stocks that were previ- 

 ously Ignored are now the subject of biological studies. 



Although the available data arc in many cases weak, 

 analyses indicate that most groundfish stocks are in good 

 condition with populations capable of yielding close to 

 maximum sustainable catches. There are exceptions to 

 this generalization for some species in certain areas, such 

 as the depressed stocks of ling cod in the Strait of 

 Georgia. But the only species that appears to be seriously 

 overexploited over wide areas is Pacific ocean perch. 



In short, these stock assessments reveal few species for 

 which yields are likely to decline and several that offer 

 opportunities for increased catches, notably pollock, 

 hake and dogfish. But the data are not yet adequate to 

 estimate sustainable yields with much precision, and the 

 potential of all groundfish species may be anywhere from 

 the present landings of 30 thousand metric tons per year 

 to 3 times this amount. 



INVERTEBRATE SPECIES 



The Pacific coast also supports a considerable variety 

 of minor fisheries, based primarily on shellfish and Crus- 

 tacea. Production in these small fisheries has grown sub- 

 stantially in recent years, with landings of 20 million 

 pounds in 1980 nearly double those of a decade earlier. 



The most important species in order of quantity landed 

 are now geoduck, oysters, crabs, clams, shrimp, prawns 

 and abalone. 



Geoducks The first commercial geoduck harvest, 

 which totalled 96 thousand pounds, was recorded as 

 recently as 1976. With lucrative new markets in Japan, 

 landings have since increased substantially to 5.7 million 

 pounds in 1981. Information on geoduck stocks is sparse, 

 and the department has fixed a limit to the annual har- 

 vest of 6 million pounds, 4 million to be taken from the 

 south coast and 2 million from the north. The appropri- 

 ateness of these harvest limits is uncertain, and some evi- 

 dence indicates that geoduck stocks are being overex- 

 ploited in the south. 



Oysters The Province of British Columbia, through 

 the Marine Resources Branch of the Ministry of Environ- 



ment, is responsible for regulating the oyster fishery. 

 Commercial harvests have averaged nearly 5.7 million 

 pounds in recent years. Most of the harvest is taken from 

 cultured stocks, with wild stocks contributing probably 

 less than 15 percent of the total. 



The scope for expanded production of cultured oysters 

 is thought to be substantial though critically dependent 

 on markets and production costs, so the Marine 

 Resources Branch has been encouraging oyster culture 

 rather than commercial production from wild stocks. 

 This policy, coupled with increasing recreational harvest- 

 ing of the more accessible wild stocks, makes it likely that 

 commercial harvests of wild stocks will decline. 



Crabs Abundant stocks of crab in coastal waters sup- 

 port both recreational and commercial fisheries. The total 

 catch has fluctuated considerably as have crab popula- 

 tions, which show volatile recruitment and mortality. 

 Regulations permit retention of crabs larger than 6V2 

 inches (across the back of the shell) only. As long as the 

 regulations are adhered to, this is an effective means of 

 protecting brood stocks because females do not grow that 

 large and males reach breeding age before attaining that 

 size. Harvests are now about 2.7 million pounds armu- 

 ally, and the potential yields from crab stocks are likely 

 to be between 2 and 3 million pounds, fluctuating from 

 year to year in response to variations in stock size. 



Clams Commercial harvests draw heavily on butter 

 clams, manila clams and littleneck clams. Commercial 

 landings have been recorded since the beginning of the 

 century, but production in recent decades has been 

 erratic as a result of market fluctuations and the recur- 

 rence of paralytic shellfish poison (red tide). Apparently, 

 only manila clams are being harvested at or above the 

 estimated sustainable yields. While the stocks appear 

 capable of supporting increased levels of exploitation, the 

 threat of paralytic shellfish poison is a serious impedi- 

 ment to expansion. 



Shrimp and prawns Nine species of shrimp and 

 prawns are found on Canada's Pacific coast, six of which 

 are exploited commercially. Shrimp catches have been 

 fairly steady in recent years except for a large but short- 

 lived fishery off Vancouver Island during the 1970s. 

 Prawn fishing has expanded sharply during the last three 

 years, the consequences of which are not yet apparent, 

 although the prawn grounds in certain areas, such as 

 Howe Sound, are believed to have been overfished. 

 Recent annual harvests of about 1.8 million pounds are 

 believed to be close to the maximum sustainable yields. 



Abalone Abalone provide a traditional food for 

 coastal Indians, and have a long history of commercial 

 and recreational use. Like geoducks, abalone have 

 recently been in strong demand in Japanese markets. 

 After 1976, landings burgeoned, with a peak harvest of 



