Fisheries and Oceans Canada
News Release April 22nd 2004
WEST COAST SABLEFISH FISHERY LOOKS STRONG

Vancouver - Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced today that the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) on the Pacific coast has been set at 4,500 metric tonnes (mt) for the 2004/2005 fishing season.

The directed commercial fishery for sablefish, also known as Blackcod, runs from August 1 to July 31 each year and is conducted under a “K” licence category.  Longline traps or hooks are permitted under this licence.  The allocation for these gear types is 4,005 mt of the total TAC, after deductions for First Nations fisheries and research.  The directed sablefish fishery has operated under an Individual Vessel Quota (IVQ) system since 1990. This system requires allocating shares of the TAC to each licensed vessel and has resulted in a safer, more profitable, year-round fishery in comparison to the management system in place prior to the 1990s.

The commercial trawl fishery is allocated 8.75 percent of the sablefish TAC (approximately 380 mt).  The sablefish trawl fishery, conducted under a “T” licence category, also operates under an IVQ system.  This fishery begins on April 1, 2004 and runs until March 31, 2005.

The recreational catch daily limit for sablefish is four fish, with a possession limit of eight fish.  Fishing by hook and line is the only gear permitted in the recreational fishery.  First Nations also harvest sablefish for food, social and ceremonial purposes.

Stock indicators suggest that sablefish decreased in abundance from high levels in the early 1990s to lower levels by the mid 1990s.  Abundance remained relatively low from the mid 1990s to 2001, showed a modest increase in 2002 and then a substantial improvement in 2003.  In 2004, indicators of stock abundance are showing sablefish abundance at levels similar to the highs observed in the early 1990s.

Sablefish have a long history of exploitation in B.C., with the first recorded landings in 1913.  This fishery continues to be a valuable species in the B.C. commercial fishery, with landed value reaching $16.6 million in 2002.  The majority of the product is headed, gutted and frozen at-sea for export to Japanese markets.

Sablefish inhabit shelf and slope waters to depths greater than 1,500 meters, from central Baja California to the Bering Sea and Japan.  Juveniles can be highly migratory, traveling from nursery areas in Hecate Strait and mainland inlets north to Alaska.  They grow quickly in size, with mature females reaching an average length of 55 cm, and up to a maximum of 80 cm, in three to five years.  The oldest sablefish aged to date was 113 years.

A collaborative agreement between Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Sablefish Association provides for joint research, stock assessment, management, and enforcement activities.  The Department is committed to manage fisheries in a sustainable manner for today and for future generations.

For more information:

Michelle Imbeau
Communications Officer
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Region
604-666-2872

Please visit our web site at: www-comm.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca