Estevan Tuna
Products were once
available in Victoria
at The Market on
Yates and The
Market on
Millstream stores,
but not now due to
low 2016 catches.
Tuna Report 2015
Tuna fishing on MV Estevan for the 2015 season
In
general, the 2015 fleet landings are lower by at least 20% and the
fish are about 20% smaller. Different year classes of fish follow
the currents of our coastal zones chasing plankton forage, so each
year may bring a different average size of fish.
We were lucky, at least for July. On our first trip out of Victoria,
we headed out through Juan de Fuca Strait to the US - Canada border
area known as The Fence. The first day, really not being ready and
expecting to catch little, we leisurely set about untangling and
setting the lines. As soon as we set them about 11 am, the tuna
started to bite non-stop... We had 266 that day and it went on like
that for the rest of the month, some days hitting close to 300. I
remember one evening when the crew pulled 175 just before pitch dark
at 11 pm. Our average for most of the month was around 200 fish.
We were pretty cocky by then, and Tristan and Rex had some bulging
biceps to show for all the hard work. Towards the end of July
fishing fell off, days of 20 or so, then one of four measly fish. We
were nearly full with the second load anyway and had heard reports
of fish being caught off Triangle Island and Queen Charlotte Sound.
So we unloaded in Victoria, and I took the boat up the inside of the
island while the crew, in a lucky twist of timing that rarely
happens in fishing, had a couple of days off to enjoy the
festivities on the BC Day long weekend.
We took off from Comox dock on the holiday Monday night after
weaving down the quay through the throngs out to enjoy the fireworks
(gee thanks Comox, what a send-off!) and started up Johnstone Strait
for Triangle Island. Of course by then fishing had slacked off, and
we started off for Haida Gwaii. The fishing was pretty paltry, an
outcome borne out by the water temperature charts, so we backtracked
to Triangle Island, then ran down the outside of Vancouver Island,
hit some fish off Clayquot Sound for a day or two and ended up right
back at the Fence. Six hundred nautical miles circumventing
Vancouver Island with a side trip nearly to Haida Gwaii, and the
fishing turned out to be best in the area we had left over two weeks
before. After 50 years in the fishing business, I know better than
to chase fish that are already caught and landed. Well, this time I
forgot!
Fishing from the third week of August to the end of September was
the more usual grind, marked by engine repairs and bad weather (Ukie
was hopping - finally catching up to its flashy sister Tofino) and
yes, even a few tuna. Rex jumped ship to return to university, and
Tristan and I ground out two more partial trips.
All in all the season was favourable due to a cracking good start,
with the bonus that I got the injectors changed on my main engine
with the expert assistance from Erik Larsen of Larsen Diesel.
Nothing like breaking down during fishing season to focus the mind
and get a hard, dirty job done!
In ending, I just have to comment on the plethora of marine life we
observed this fishing season---whales, plankton, fish,
birds---fantastic! I don't know whether it's due to the particular
currents this year or the rewards of the stringent conservation
efforts of Canada and US for the last decade, but the ocean was very
much alive this summer. At night, drifting around with our lights on
to avoid being hit by freighters and other vessels, we were
entertained by huge schools of baby sharks roiling about just under
the surface of the lit ocean. Whales breached and dolphins
frolicked. It is really a privilege to witness such enthralling
signs of sea life around a vessel adrift on the "wine-dark sea".
This is a quick recap of three months of Albacore fishing offshore,
some good, some not so good, but always interesting.
