Pacific Halibut
ts elongate, slender, compressed body recognizes this fish. The mouth is large and has well developed teeth on both sides of the jaws. The halibut is dark brown on its eyed side and irregularly blotched with a lighter white on its blind side. The maximum length of the male is 4 feet 7 inches; the female, 8 feet 9 inches.
The halibut is very abundant along the Pacific shores of Canada and ranges from Southern California to the Bering Sea, occurring from very shallow waters to up to 600 fathoms.
Spawning takes place from November to January in depths of 150 to 225 fathoms. A large female of 140 pounds may lay as many as 2 700 000 eggs which will drift into shallower waters where the young fish will settle in bays and inshore banks. The main food
consists of fish, crabs, clams, squids and other invertebrates
Chinook Salmon (King, Tyee, Spring)
Chinook live from three to seven years, and weigh up to 80 pounds. Also known as Springs or Kings, they are the most famous game salmon sought by sport fishers.
Chinook can be identified by their small eye, black gums at the base of their teeth, long black spots along their back and tail. While in salt water, the Chinook has a dark back with a greenish-blue sheen. As it begins the journey back toward its spawning ground, its colour darkens and it develops a reddish hue around the fins and belly. The teeth of adult spawning males become enlarged and the snout develops into a hook.
Chinook head for sea within a few months after emerging from their gravel nest although somehave been known to remain in their home stream up to two years. Spawning Chinook vary in age - anywhere from two to eight years.
In the sea, Chinook feed on large zooplankton, herring, sand lance and many other schooling bait fish.
Coho Salmon (Silver)
Coho live three years, and weigh up to 23 pounds. Prized by both commercial and sports fishers, they are also known as Silvers or Bluebacks.
Coho can be identified by the whiteness at the base of their teeth with black at the edge of their gums. They
have spots on their upper lobe, as should be a silver colour next to the caudal, which is thicker than in
other species.
Coho are the most widely dispersed of any of the five species of salmon and our found in most coastal
streams in British Colombia and in many streams from California to Alaska but the majority are found from the Cook Inlet to the Colombia River.
Most Coho prefer warm water and stay close to the coast often moving south in the fall and winter months.
For the first year Coho spend in the Ocean they mainly feed on sand lance, herring, crab larvae and krill.
Lingcod
Lingcod live up to twenty years, and can weigh up to 80 pounds. Lingcod is a very popular eating fish and is thus prized by many anglers.
Lingcod are unique to the west coast of North America, with the center of abundance off the coast of British Columbia. They are found on the bottom with most individuals occupying rocky areas at depths of 10 to 100 m although we have caught Lingcod offshore in depths of over 250 feet!
Starting in October, lingcod migrate to nearshore spawning grounds. The males migrate first, and establish nest sites in strong current areas in rock crevices or on ledges. Spawning takes place between December and March, and females leave the nest site immediately after depositing eggs. Males actively defend the nest from predators until the eggs hatch in early March through late April.
Lingcod are voracious predators, feeding on invertebrates and many species of fish, including herring, Clupea harengus, and Pacific hake, Merluccius productus. One of their favorite foods are smaller octopus, and they will also readily devour large rockfish. Lingcod that survive the larval stages have few predators themselves, and are vulnerable mainly to marine mammals such as sea lions and harbor seals.
Rockfish
British Columbia Rockfish come in all shapes, sizes and colours. These spiky, spiny, striped and speckled creatures are favourites with sportsmen and naturalists alike.
Rockfish are distinguished by a stout, heavy build, large broad heads, usually bearing spines and strong ridges, and heavily-spined fins.
The colour patterns vary from black and drab green through a brilliant orange and crimson; some are accented by the presence of wide red or black vertical stripes.
There is little information available about the migratory patterns of these fish and they are considered to be a non-migratory species with localized movement only. Although there are some species that undergo seasonal depth migrations, rockfish are primarily a bottom residing fish.
Rockfish live long lives, and are between the ages of 7 to 18 years (depending on the species) when they breed. They also live for a long time; the maximum ages for yelloweye rockfish is 115 years and 76 years for guillback rockfish.
Dungeness Crab
The Dungeness Crab is a very popular species of crab that inhabits eelgrass beds and sandy water bottoms along the West Coast of Vancouver Island.
Dungeness Crab are a very tasty delicacy and are the most commercially important crab in the Pacific Northwest of western Canada. About one quarter of this crab's weight is meat. The flesh also has a delicate flavor that is slightly sweet.
Dungeness crabs have a wide, long, hard shell, which they must periodically molt to grow. They have five pairs of legs, which are similarly armored, the foremost pair of which ends in claws that the crab uses both as defense and to tear apart large food items. The crab uses its smaller appendages to pass the food particles into its mouth. Once inside the crab's stomach, food is further digested by the "gastric mill", a collection of tooth-like structures.
Dungeness Crab prefer to eat clams, other crustaceans and small fish, but is also an effective scavenger. Dungeness crabs can also bury themselves completely in the sand if threatened.
Pacific Spot Prawns
Spot prawns are the largest of the 7 commercial species of shrimp found in Canada’s west coast waters. The spot prawn is known for its sweet, delicate flavour and firm texture.
The prawn’s body colour is usually reddish brown or tan with white horizontal bars on the carapace (shell) and distinctive white spots on the first and fifth abdominal segments.
Spot prawns are protandric hermaphroditic meaning that each individual initially matures as a male and then passes through a transition stage to become a female. In British Columbia, spot prawns usually live for about 4 years, starting their lives as males and maturing at one year of age. They function as mature males for 2 years and then transform into females in their final year of life.
While they are found in a depth range from the intertidal zone to 487 metres (1,598 feet), most fishing in British Columbian waters occurs in depths of 40 metres to 100 metres ( 131 feet to 328 feet). Spot prawns are harvested in traps deployed on long-lines onto the ocean’s rocky bottom.
While prawns can be grilled, baked, sautéed, boiled or steamed, they only require 1 to 2 minutes cooking time and are done when they just turn pink. Overcooking will toughen the prawns.
Shellfish
In British Columbia, there are many different species of edible shellfish available to sports fishermen including Butter Clams, Manila Clams, Varnish Clams, Littleneck Clams, Razor Clams, California Mussels, Blue Mussels and Pacific Oysters. Archaeological findings note that clams & shellfish have been used as food for over 20,000 years.
The species that now dominates clam farming and harvesting in British Columbia is the Manila clam.
Like the Pacific Oyster, Manila clams are not indigenous to the Pacific Northwest but were accidentally introduced. Some clam seed was inadvertently included with Pacific Oyster seed brought in from Japan in the 1930’s. The first specimens were found in Ladysmith Harbour in 1936. It lives along much of the BC coast as far north as Bella Bella.
Shellfish can be steamed, baked, deep-fried, pan-fried, battered or eaten raw. They are often used in soups, chowders, stews, paellas, pastas, casseroles and canapes. Avoid overcooking shellfish as meat will become tough and grainy if cooked too long. If the shells of live shellfish do not open during cooking, they are either not cooked through enough or are bad and should be discarded.
