20 
Fishery Bulletin 95( 1 ), 1997 
Tabie 6 
Distribution of estimated age and size classes of bluefin 
tuna harvested within the Barkley Sound area only, based 
on archeological remains from Barkley Sound area sites. 
Estimated fork 
length (cm) 
Number of 
individuals 
Estimated 
age class (yr) ; 
120-129 
1 
4 
130-159 
5 
5-6 
160-179 
8 
6-7 
180-199 
11 
7-8 
200-219 
8 
8 
220-239 
2 
8-9 
240-260 
1 
Total = 36 
9-10 
1 After Bayliff, 1994a: 
246 (data for vertebrae only). 
and 240 cm TL and between approximately 96 to 293 
kg in weight. The youngest fish was estimated at 4 
years (120 cm TL) and the oldest between 9 and 10 
years (240 cm TL). Of the total sample of 45 indi- 
viduals, 36 were recovered from the Barkley Sound 
area on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island, and 
the range of sizes from that area is summarized in 
Table 6. The relative size range of the bluefin tuna 
vertebrae harvested from Barkley Sound is shown 
pictorally in Figure 3. 
Ethnographic and historic information 
Information from ethnographic sources substantiates 
and augments archeological evidence indicating that 
large bluefin tuna were present and harvested by 
Nuu-chah-nulth people of Vancouver Island well into 
the 19th century. Elders of the Mowachaht group 
from Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island have con- 
tributed invaluable details about tuna hunting strat- 
egies employed by their elders, some through inter- 
views with Richard Inglis of the Royal British Co- 
lumbia Museum, Victoria, British Columbia during 
1991 and 1992 (Inglis 2 ). These accounts represent 
the only ethnographic description of aboriginal tuna 
hunting on the northwest coast (McMillan, 1979). 
Pertinent details that substantiate the occurrence 
of adult bluefin tuna during the historic period are 
presented here. 
The month of August is said to have been the time 
when tuna could be found feeding at the surface in 
inshore waters (sea-surface temperatures during Au- 
gust usually average about 14°C [Sharp, 1978]). The 
occurrences of large tuna were apparently preceded 
and accompanied by recognizable changes in water 
and weather conditions and by a unique set of asso- 
ciated fauna. Tuna traveled well inside Nootka Sound 
into protected inlets and were harpooned at night as 
2 Inglis, R. 1993. British Columbia Ministry of Aboriginal Af- 
fairs, #100-1810 Blanchard St., Victoria, British Columbia, 
Canada V8V 1X4. Personal commun. 
A BC 
Figure 3 
Selected vertebrae from Barkley Sound archeological deposits. See Figure 1 for locations. (A) 
Specimen no. 44, vertebra no. 33; site DfSj 23a; length ca. 210 cm; (B) Specimen no. 61, vertebra 
no. 33; site DfSj 23a; length ca. 190 cm; and (C) Specimen no. 52, vertebra no. 33; site DfSi 5; 
length ca. 120 cm. 
