Fishery Notice

For the remainder of the 2019/20 commercial groundfish season, the Groundfish 
Management Unit is alerting vessel masters to a change in the conditions of 
licence regarding live rockfish offloads. 

Archipelago Marine Research and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans have 
developed a sub-sampling pilot protocol to reduce mortality on live offloads, 
while maintaining rigor and consistency in data collection. In order to partake 
in the sub-sampling protocol, vessel masters must contact the Department to 
receive their amended conditions of licence, prior to conducting a live offload 
under the new conditions. 

Section 16 of the conditions of licence will be repealed, and replaced with the 
following: 

16.  Method by which the weight of the fish is to be determined:

(1) At the time and place of landing all fish shall be sorted, counted by piece 
and weighed by individual species.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection 16(1), if the landed weight is greater than 
2,500 pounds (1,134 kg) of a species, with the exception of halibut and 
lingcod, a sub-sample of not less than 225 specimens shall be counted by piece 
and weighed, as directed by an observer. 

(3) Notwithstanding subsection 16(1), where fish are kept alive prior to 
landing and where counting by piece and weighing by species will negatively 
affect the health of the fish, a sub-sample of not less than 50 specimens, or 
20%, whichever is greater, shall be counted by species and weighed, as directed 
by an observer, according to the Live Rockfish Offload Validation Procedures 
pilot.

(4) If fish are to be placed into totes or other containers at the time of 
landing, each tote or container shall be weighed with ice, liners, etc. and 
labelled with the tote weight prior to use.

(5) Totes or other containers that have been weighed and labelled before the 
landing are subject to weight verification at any time by a designated 
groundfish dockside observer.

(6) Where fish are placed in containers prior to landing and are frozen at sea:
(a) each container shall contain only one species;
(b) each container shall be clearly marked as to the species contained therein; 
and 
(c) all fish shall be counted and weighed by individual species. 

(7) Subject to 16(3), where fish are kept alive prior to landing:
(a) All fish shall be sorted and weighed by individual species.

(8) All fish shall be weighed on a scale approved, in the case of fish landed 
in Canada, by Industry Canada, and in the case of fish landed in the United 
States, by the State of Washington Weights and Measures.

(9) All fish weights shall be determined on the basis of round weights by 
deducting the weight of the container and converting the product weight to a 
round weight or, in the case of halibut, to a fresh, dressed head off weight. 

(10) The following conversion factors shall be used to convert product weight 
to round weight for all groundfish species except halibut:

All groundfish (round):
Frozen:  round, 4 percent glaze allowance,       0.96
Fresh:   round, 2 percent ice/slime allowance,   0.98

"Live" fish:
Fresh:  3 percent shrinkage allowance,           0.97

Arrowtooth Flounder:
Frozen:  dressed, head-on,         1.16   Fresh:  dressed, head-on,     1.14
Frozen:  dressed, head-off,        1.43   Fresh:  dressed, head-off,    1.39
Frozen:  dressed, head-off-tailed, 1.54 Fresh: dressed, head-off-tailed,1.49 

Other flounders and soles:
Frozen:  dressed, head-on,    1.20        Fresh:  dressed, head-on,     1.22
Frozen:  dressed, head-off,   1.60        Fresh:  dressed, head-off,    1.64

Lingcod:
Frozen:  Japanese cut,        1.60        Fresh:  Japanese cut,         1.64
Frozen:  Western cut,         1.33        Fresh:  Western cut,          1.36
Frozen:  dressed, head-on,    1.08        Fresh:  dressed, head-on,     1.11

Pacific Cod:
Frozen:  Japanese cut,        1.48        Fresh:  Japanese cut,         1.51
Frozen:  Western cut,         1.26        Fresh:  Western cut,          1.28
Frozen:  dressed, head-on,    1.08        Fresh:  dressed, head-on,     1.11

Rockfish:
Frozen: Japanese cut,          1.54        Fresh: Japanese cut,           1.57
Frozen: dressed, head-off      1.48        Fresh: dressed, head-off,      1.51
Frozen: dressed, head-on,      1.13        Fresh: dressed, head-on,       1.16

Sablefish:
Frozen: Japanese cut,          1.48        Fresh: Japanese cut,           1.51

Skate:
Frozen:  Flap/Wing,            2.32        Fresh:  Flap/Wing,            2.45

Spiny Dogfish:
Frozen:  dressed, head-on,     1.20        Fresh:  dressed, head-on,    1.25
Frozen:  dressed, head-off,    1.75        Fresh:  dressed, head-off,   1.82

(11) The following conversion factors shall be used to convert halibut product 
weight to an equivalent weight of fresh, dressed head-off halibut:

Fresh, dressed head-off with ice and slime           0.98
Fresh, dressed head-on with ice and slime            0.88
Fresh, round with ice and slime                      0.75
Frozen, dressed head-off with glaze                  0.97
Frozen, dressed head-on with glaze                   0.87
Frozen, round with glaze                             0.74



5.	FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Lindsay Gardner
Sablefish, Hook & Line Coordinator
Groundfish Management Unit
Phone: (604) 666-0912
Fax: (604) 666-8525

Fisheries & Oceans Operations Center - FN0715
Sent July 26, 2019 at 1515

Return to Main Menu

Visit Fisheries and Oceans Canada on the Web at http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Printed from the Pacific Region web site on August 23, 2026 at 2134