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Seining
is a method of fishing in which a net is used to encircle fish. Two types
of seines have been used in BC: the purse seine and the drag, or beach seine.
The earliest seines were the drag type. Up to 200 meters long, they were
set from the shore, usually at a river mouth, in a large circle around schooling
fish. The net was then dragged ashore full of fish. In the early 1900’s only
First Nations people, sometimes working in conjunction with nearby canneries,
were allowed to use drag seines. Government policy eventually eliminated
most drag seine operations, and the harvest transferred to the purse seine
fishery. Drag seining was still being used in the 1990’s in the eulachon fishery,
as an experimental selective fishing method and as a way to collect brood
stock for salmon hatcheries.
A purse seine is designed so that rings, bridles and a purse line are used
to gather (“purse”) a net along its bottom edge, forming a pouch in which
the fish are trapped until they can be hauled aboard. Purse seines are set
and retrieved from seine boats, or seiners. By 1920 the purse seiner had become
a major force in the coastal fishery, not only for salmon and herring, but
in the new sardine fishery as well. Early purse seine nets were made of cotton,
with different mesh sizes depending on which species of salmon the seiner
was catching. The top edge of the net – the corkline – was hung with floats.
The bottom edge of the net – the lead line – was made of manila and weighted
with lead. Hanging from the lead line were bridles and heavy rings through
which ran the purse line. An average seine net was 200 fathoms in length
and about 15 meters deep, large enough to capture 20,000 or more salmon in
one set.
A series of technological innovations greatly improved the productivity of the seine fishery following WWII. Synthetic fibers led to nets that were lighter, stronger, more durable and easier to maintain. The seine drum was introduced in the 1950’s, allowing the net to be wound on and off the vessel more easily. In 1953 the Puretic power block was introduced. This was a hydraulically powered block mounted high above the deck with which the crew could bring the net aboard. In 1960 metal and fiberglass hulls began to replace the older wooden hulled vessels. Concerns about overcapacity of the fleet led the government to limit the number of seine licenses beginning in the 1970’s. New regulations also prohibited license holders from building new vessels larger than the boats they were replacing. This restriction led to significant design changes in the new vessels being built. Most were much wider, often with blunt noses, allowing a dramatic increase in the carrying capacity while staying within length requirements. Between 1996 and the year 2000, the number of salmon seine licenses on the coast was reduced from 536 to 276, largely due to government license buyback schemes designed to reduce the fish-catching capacity of the seine sector. TOP
Gillnetting is one of the oldest forms of fishing, practiced around the world for thousands of years. A gillnet is a long, horizontal mesh sheet with floats along the upper edge. It is set perpendicular to the path of the fish and designed so that incoming fish can get their heads but not their bodies through the mesh; thus the term gillnet. First Nations fishers used gillnets made of nettles, cedar and sometimes hemp with wood floats and stone weights.
In BC waters, gillnets are used primarily in the commercial salmon fishery but also in the herring roe, eulachon and recreational smelt fisheries. Most gillnets are set on the surface but they can be set on the seabed or at any depth in between. A form of gillnet known as a setnet is set from shore. Setnets are most commonly used by First Nations fishers along the banks of major salmon rivers. In shallow inshore waters and small rivers, gillnets are often worked by hand: crew members wade in the water or work from canoes and small skiffs.
In deeper waters and in large rivers, gillnets are operating from larger vessels, typically 10 to 13 meters long. A typical large gillnetter has the net stored on a hydraulic drum on the after deck and the net is set and retrieved over the stern. Fish are picked out of the net as it comes aboard. Another type of gillnetter is the bow-picker, in which the drum and rollers are at the forward end of the vessel and the net is set from the bow while the vessel backs away.
The size of the netting used in a gillnet is determined by the type of fish targeted. Typical mesh sizes include 50 mm for herring, 100-175 mm for cod and 130 mm for salmon. Gillnets vary dramatically in size; an individual net may span 30 to 75 metres. In the early 1990’s, when a dramatic decline in fish stocks reduced the number of legal fishing days, many people were forced to leave the industry. By the end of the decade gillnetting was tightly regulated; fishers were restricted to specific fishing zones and opening times in an effort to conserve the remaining fish.Between 1996 and 2000, the coastal gillnet fleet was reduced through government buyback programs from 2,269 vessels to 1,411. TOP
Trolling is a salmon fishing method in which fish are caught on hooks towed on lines behind the vessel. The first commercial trolling in BC was done by aboriginal people fishing from dugout canoes using baited barbs and handlines. European immigrants became involved in commercial handlining from rowboats and skiffs and the fishery remained viable into the 1940’s. Gasoline-powered boats were introduced in the early 1900’s. The gas boat had tall trolling poles, spread open at the top to form a V, so that multiple lines could run through the water without tangling. In the 1930’s fishers began to take ice aboard, allowing them to work farther offshore and to stay out for several days. By the 1960’s compact freezing systems allowed trollers to freeze their catch at sea, extending their trips even further. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, the BC troll fleet consisted of approximately 1,600 vessels. By the year 2000, largely due to government buyback programs, the fleet had shrunk to 544 boats. Conservation concerns for coho, chinook and sockeye stocks have severely curtailed the troll fishery. As of 1999, a BC troller fished for an average of 30 days a year. Modern trolling vessels can have as many as 120 lures in the water at once, at depths of 10 to 60 fathoms. Troll-caught salmon bring in top prices because they are cleaned and iced or frozen immediately after being caught and are not scarred by net marks. TOP
Trawling, or dragging,
is a commercial fishing method in which a trawl vessel (trawler or dragger)
drags a cone-shaped net with a rectangular opening through the water to trap
fish. Trawling is used to take a wide variety of species in a number of separate
fisheries including shrimp, ephausiids, scallops and groundfish. As of 2000,
the trawl fishery was the largest commercial fishery, by volume, in BC.
Two types of trawling systems are used, the otter trawl and the beam trawl.
The otter trawl is the standard method for harvesting groundfish, while the
beam trawl is used primarily in the shrimp fishery. The otter trawl was introduced
to BC in about 1910 and is used for both bottom trawling and mid-water trawling.
The bottom trawl has rollers along its bottom edge while floats on the top
edge keep the net open. The wings of the net are spread by large wood or steel
“otter boards” or “doors” which are connected to the winch drum on the vessel
and keep the doors straining outwards from the wings.
Mid-water trawls do not require rollers because they do not come into contact
with the bottom, but they do use weights, floats and doors to keep the net
open. Mid-water trawling accounts for more than 76% of the groundfish catch
by volume, mostly hake and turbot. Otter trawl fishers estimate that only
6% of the coastal waters of BC are suitable for bottom trawling. This is due
to the abundance of underwater obstacles such as pinnacles, rocks and steeply
sloped bottoms that cannot be fished.
With either type of net, the trapped fish accumulate in the narrow end of
the cone, known as the cod end, which is the last part of the net hauled aboard.
The crew then release a special knot at the cod end and the fish spill out.
Otter trawlers are sturdy, powerful vessels, 10.5 meters to 45 meters long;
many of them are constructed from steel. The introduction of depth sounders,
synthetic nets and the powered net drum have been major innovations in the
fishery.
Since 1997 the groundfish trawl fishery (excluding shrimp) has been managed
on an individual vessel quota system for each species. Most groundfish trawlers
must carry government-approved observers to gather data needed to manage the
fishery and comply with regulations. The groundfish trawl fleet consists of
142 license holders (of which about 80 were active in 1999). During 1990’s
they landed an average of 140,000 tonnes annually with an estimated wholesale
value of $133 million.
The beam trawling vessel is 9 to 13.5 meters long, smaller than the otter trawler. The 2 are similar in shape and function but the beam system does not incorporate doors. Instead the wings and mouth of the net are held open by a long pole, or beam, about the same length as the vessel. A beam trawl net does not have rollers. In 2000, there were 200 vessels actively fishing for shrimp using this method. Beam trawlers estimate that only 2% of the BC ocean bottom is suitable for beam trawling.
Both beam and otter trawling raise concerns about bycatch: unwanted species, undersize species or incidental species that the trawler is not allowed to keep. Experimental projects have been underway for many years to reduce bycatch. There is also concern about the ecological effects of trawl nets dragging along the ocean bottom. TOP
Longlining is a hook and line fishery in which long lengths of baited hooks are laid on the ocean floor to catch halibut, sablefish, rockfish, dogfish and other species of groundfish. To set longline gear, a buoy topped with a marker flag is tossed overboard. Attached to it is a length of line at least as long as the depth of water into which the gear is being set. When enough line has been set out, an anchor is tied onto the buoy line, a skate (or fixed length) of groundline is secured to the anchor and the groundline begins running over the stern. At set intervals along the groundline, baited hooks are attached by shorter lengths of line – a meter or so – known as gangions. These are either tied to the longline or attached by removable snap-hooks. Several skates are usually joined together. When enough line has been set out, another anchor and buoy are attached, making a “string” of gear. Further strings are set out as required. Gear is allowed to “soak” several hours, or sometimes all night, before being hauled back aboard. To retrieve the gear, modern longliners use a powered davit mounted amidships. As the boat steams along the track of the gear, fish are gaffed aboard while the longline is spooled back onto a revolving drum or carefully coiled into piles on deck.
In the late 1990’s, a typical longline trip lasted 4 – 8 days, with the fish cleaned and iced at sea to preserve freshness. Until the late 1980’s longline fisheries were known as a derby-style fishery. A certain portion of the coast was opened by fisheries officials for a set length of time. Longline vessels then crowded together for the best areas and crews scrambled to fish as much gear as they could to maximize their catch before the fishery closed. Vessels fished regardless of weather and prices were often low because markets were flooded at the close of the fishery. In the late 1980’s, management of the halibut and sablefish fisheries changed to a quota system, where the annual quota is divided among license holders and each may fish at almost any time of the year until his quota is met. TOP
Weirs and traps are devices that were employed traditionally by First Nations fishers to catch salmon and trout migrating through tidal waters or traveling upstream to spawn. A weir is a fence-like structure constructed from rocks and/or posts and latticework set across a stream to block the passage of fish. Rock weirs at river mouths allowed fish to pass over the barrier on the incoming tide, then becoming stranded when the tide receded. A stake weir was built across a creek, blocking the passage of the fish, which were speared or netted as they bunched up against the barrier. Some stake weirs incorporated fish traps. The fish passed through a single opening in the weir and into the trap – a device constructed of wood that allowed the fish to swim in but not out. In the late 1800’s, cannery owners began constructing large commercial traps up to 1 km long. These were located in salt water in areas where major migratory routes of salmon passed close to shore. This type of trap was extremely profitable to the canneries, however during the 1940’s and 1950’s the traps became less viable due to restrictive opening times, competition from seiners and rising costs of operation.
Small
scale weirs and traps were again being used and tested in the 1990’s as a
live capture method, allowing the release of non-target species as part of
a more selective and responsible fishery. These methods can also be used to
enumerate fish and to collect brood stock for salmonid enhancement.
Small box-type traps have been used throughout the world for thousands of years. In BC they are used to catch shellfish in both the sport and commercial fisheries, usually for crab and shrimp. The commercial fishery also uses traps to catch sablefish. Most traps are a rectangular or circular box shape with a metal frame covered with mesh. Some form of bait is placed within the net. When set, the trap sits on the ocean bottom with a line and a float running to the surface. The targeted prey are drawn by the smell of food and enter through funnel shaped openings in the trap. Once inside, they are unable to find the narrow opening again and become trapped. TOP
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