Sustainable Fisheries
Lingcod
Lingcod are a highly sought-after, white-fleshed fish. They are found from California to Alaska, widely distributed over rocky bottom areas to over 400 metres deep. Lingcod males mature at two years of age and can live for up to 14 years (90 cm) and females mature at three and live up to 20 years (120 cm). A mature female Lingcod can lay up to 500,000 eggs in a spawning season.
Beginning of the Season
The Lingcod fishery opens on April 1. Kingsley and crew fish their way up the near-shore waters of the west coast of Vancouver Island in April and May. It is a solitary pursuit and the lads often go days without seeing another boat. They enjoy the fishery and appreciate the rugged and wild beauty of the west coast as Spring arrives.
Hook & Line Fishing
Our fishing method is simple. Six or seven weighted jigs are fished on short leaders under a main horizontal line that is attached to a heavy weight or ‘cannonball’, which is lowered from the boat on a steel wire. The wire is spooled on a hydraulically operated gurdy that is controlled by a crewman on the boat. This rig is towed a fathom or two over rocky Lingcod habitat. Hooked fish are brought onboard, stunned, bled, dressed, washed and placed in the boat’s freezer-hold, where they are quickly core-frozen to -30° C.
Lingcod is not a high-volume fishery. Due to the unpredictable and violent springtime weather, the boat is often hunkered down in a remote anchorage, occasionally for several days running, as yet another springtime storm blasts through. The boat unloads every two or three weeks until the end of our season in late May. June is the “hurry-up” month as summer is here. It’s time to repair and re-rig the Nerka and get her away for the new Albacore Tuna season.