Halibut Biological Sampling

 Atlantic halibut are one of the largest fish in our region, and support a Marine Stewardship Council certified, multi-million dollar fishery in Canadian waters. Little is known about how these fish move and grow on the American side of the border. Beginning in 2017, the Fishermen’s Alliance partnered with regional scientists to undertake a project designed to better inform the management of this species. Fishermen catch halibut during their normal fishing trips and collect tissue and bone samples from the fish. After returning to shore, the samples are catalogued and preserved here at the Alliance before being sent to labs run by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and Fisheries and Oceans, Canada for analysis. Together with these partners and The Nature Conservancy, we look forward to improving our collective understanding of this species as the project continues in 2018.