The Ones That Get Away : Study Tags Undersized Halibut That Have to Be Thrown Back

As he stood on the dock at Fisherman’s Village in Marina del Rey, 19-year-old Damon Armelin’s sardine-baited line suddenly went taut, pulling his rod into an arc. “Fish are ON! Fish are ON!” he cried.

In seconds, a member of the species Paralichthys californicus flipped out of the water before him.

Quickly, the California halibut was thrown, gasping, onto a measuring table: 17 3/4 inches. With the limit set at five a day of 22 inches and larger, this one was too small to keep.

But not too small to tag.

A 3 1/2-inch white plastic tube soon punctured its skin and No. 07195 was tossed back in the brine, joining about 4,850 others in an unusual research program organized by sports fishermen and ichthyologists who want to to learn more about the flat, firm-fleshed species whose numbers are apparently shrinking.

Armelin, a Ladera Heights resident who works as a deckhand on a sport fishing boat, didn’t quite believe in what he was doing.

A fish, he said, is like a person. You can track the movement of an individual, but who’s to say what others will do?

He had a point, said scientist Robert J. Lavenberg, curator of fishes at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History and a co-organizer of the tagging project.

“He’s right, but that’s why we tag so many,” Lavenberg said. “Individual fish react differently. It’s the movement of the population, not any given individual, that’s important.”

Anglers who catch the tagged fish are urged to report the size, weight and location of their catch, then throw it back--unless it is big enough to eat, of course.

“We only tag the ones that are less than 22 inches,” said Laura Salvador, a phone company employee who was fishing off the dock with Armelin one sunny afternoon.

“Unless you want to be a sportsman,” said her boyfriend, Gary Bethel, 37, who suggested jokingly that she throw her catch back.

“We’re not sportsmen,” Alvarado quickly replied.

Before the tagging program started a year ago, there was little hard data on the population or the migration patterns of the California halibut. Once known as the southern, bastard or chicken halibut, it is a denizen of waters stretching from Baja California to the San Francisco Bay Area.

But after a Halibut Derby scheduled for the Santa Monica Bay this weekend, organizers expect to have more than 5,000 tagged fish in the ocean. Organizers want to set 8,000 more tags by next year.

As they come back--so far, 66 have been returned--and their particulars are fed into a computer, the findings, combined with data from a similar study by the California Department of Fish and Game, may help manage the halibut population in the future.

“Otherwise it’s just guesswork,” said Ray Ally, associate marine biologist for the Department of Fish and Game, which has tagged about 4,500 halibut since 1991. One fish actually was tagged by both surveys.

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One recommendation may be to increase the minimum size for keeper halibut, something unlikely to delight anglers. Or if it turns out that the commuting habits of the halibut vary up and down the coast, regulations could be tightened in some areas and relaxed in others.

Lavenberg said there appear to be several hundred thousand of the brown-topped, white-bottomed California halibut, which, like all members of the flounder family, has both eyes on the top of its head.

“There are halibut out there, but they’re still very much reduced compared to what they were in the ‘60s,” he said.

The larger ones seem to be diminishing, he said--particularly the big females who spawn the most eggs. It is not clear why, although it is quite likely that humans have something to do with it.

“There’s an awful lot of fishing pressure on these fish,” said Ally, of the Department of Fish and Game.

Halibut is one of the few species available to Southern California fishermen early in the year, months before the arrival of the flashier fish of summer such as albacore, yellowtail and barracuda.

“In the wintertime, there’s nothing to catch,” said Brandon Ford, operator of Happy Man, a sport-fishing boat out of Marina del Rey. “When the halibut start to bite, it creates a hysteria among the fishermen,” he said. “That’s all I fish for from Jan. 1 until May 1.”

Although halibut spend much of the year at sea, they flock to their native grounds in spring like sophomores on spring break, lured by the prospect of spawning and grunion in the shallow, sun-warmed waters of bays, channels and old river mouths.

“We are now capturing fishes that were tagged a year ago, and these fish are, remarkably, returning to areas very close to where they were originally tagged,” Lavenberg said.

It remains to be determined how many then go back offshore and shuttle back and forth across the bay or if they move north, as some scholars have suggested, to be replaced by newcomers from Baja California.

“The data so far show that halibut don’t move very much, but those that do move can travel great distances, well over 200 miles,” Ally said. One specimen first caught off Redondo Beach was nabbed near Morro Bay six months later. Another, tagged in Santa Monica last August, went south, getting as far as Point Loma near San Diego before it was caught earlier this month.

Halibut generally lay their eggs in shallow water, rarely more than 75 feet from shore, Lavenberg said. The fry then live on the ocean floor for up to five months, where they grow to a length of six inches before they rejoin their elders offshore.

The halibut is rarely found in water deeper than 200 feet. It likes to hide in the sand of the ocean floor, its small eyes poking out to look for passing fish or other seafood.

When it sees its lunch, it strikes. “The halibut may vigorously pursue prey all the way to the surface,” M. James Allen wrote in an article published by the Department of Fish and Game. “Large individuals have been observed to jump clear of the surface of the water as they make passes at schools of fish.”

Sport anglers may see their catch increase next year, when commercial boats are scheduled to stop using gill nets.

Although some Santa Monica Bay fish, such as the white croaker, are deemed unfit for human consumption because of water pollution, the halibut is said to be OK. Its digestive system allows it to get rid of toxic substances rather than concentrate them, according to Halibut Derby organizer John Bourget.

A Marina old-timer known as Captain Frenchy has been eating it for 50 years, Bourget said, “and he doesn’t glow yet.”

Bourget, who also helps run a family-owned hardware store, has been putting on the derby since 1986, with proceeds from the $35 entrance fee going to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Monica and to the fish department of the Natural History Museum. Last year’s take was $18,000, down from a high of $50,000 in 1989.

Bourget said he does not much care for the taste of fish. Catching it is another matter, and neighbors, employees and a brother-in-law enjoy the mild-flavored, vanilla-shaded halibut. He said he goes out almost every weekend during the season.

“It makes the day for you,” he said. “You never know what you’re going to bring up. To be able to sit out there and hope to catch the one you want to talk about for a long time--that’s fun.”

The wise angler will look for a spot over a sandy bottom and turn off his motor. The breeze rocks the boat, giving the baited hook an enticing motion.

“It’s a finesse thing,” Bourget said. “The fish comes up and sucks on the bait. You leave it alone; if you jerk it, you pull the bait out of his mouth. Then when he pulls the rod down, you pull against him. He’ll pull you down. You come up again and you’ve got him hooked, but when he sees the boat, he can take off-- shoom! You can’t have your drag tight or it’ll pop (snap the line). One 30-inch halibut and your day is made. It’s like catching a marlin.”

Hoping to encourage people who don’t like the idea of getting up early, he said most of the survey’s tagged fish have been recaptured between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Along with a handful of party boat operators, about 360 fishermen have joined the tagging program. Bourget asks for a modest, negotiable fee to cover the costs of making and distributing the tags.

Alaskan halibut can grow as large as 100 pounds, but their California cousins are a more manageable catch. The biggest one caught so far in the Santa Monica Bay Halibut Derby weighed just over 45 pounds.

About 1,500 anglers took part last year, but Bourget said he expects no more than 1,200 this year, largely because of the economy. What with the cost of food, bait, gasoline and beer, not to mention the entrance fee, a day of fishing can cost as much as $100.

Prizes for this year’s derby, determined by the weight, not the length, of the fish, include free trips to Alaska and Baja California, outboard motors and “lots of fishing gear,” all donated by commercial sponsors.

The weigh-in will be at the Burton Chace Park in the Marina from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.