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Geoduck Fishery
- Pacific Region
Overview of the Fishery
Geoducks ("gooey-duck") are
harvested commercially by divers using high
pressure water delivered through a nozzle (known as a "stinger")
which loosens the substrate around the clam and allows the diver
to lift the clams out live. Geoducks are quickly shipped to
processing plants where they are packed and usually delivered
live to Asian markets. Click on the diver to see how
geoducks are harvested!
The recreational fishery is limited to hand
digging methods: Commercial gear ("stingers") cannot be used for sport harvest.
The commercial fishery is managed
by limiting harvest with a combination of a total allowable
catch, individual licence quotas and a catch verification program.
The Total Allowable Catch (TAC) is calculated by first determining
the unharvested or "virgin" biomass (the product of
the bed area, the virgin geoduck density and mean individual
geoduck weight), and applying an annual harvest rate of one
percent.
Deductions from the TAC are made for clams harvested in scientific
surveys, for geoduck broodstock for aquaculture and enhancement
purposes and for biotoxin monitoring programs. The remaining
TAC is divided into 55 equal quotas, one for each licence eligibility.
A three-year area rotational process is in effect in many areas of the coast. Each of the three geographic regions of the coast (North Coast, West Coast of Vancouver Island and Inside Waters), is divided into three sub-units with roughly equal geoduck harvest areas. Some of these sub-units are fished at three times the annual exploitation rate (a total harvest rate of 3 %) once every three years. The exceptions to rotational fisheries are in Areas 14, 19 and 23 to 27which are fished annually to increase flexibility in harvest management.. Rotational fisheries concentrate the fishing fleet to make it easier to monitor quotas and reduce the annual number of landing ports for validation of landings. As well, they allows for a more thorough examination of fishery areas, since data from only one third of the coast needs to be processed. There are circumstances where annual fisheries are more sensible such as on the West Coast of Vancouver Island where closures due to PSP require the flexibility of having annual access to all areas. The 2002 fishery will be the second year of the fifth rotation, since this management style was adopted.
Geoduck Contact: Steve Heizer
Management Biologist
3225 Stephenson Point Road
Nanaimo, B.C. V9T 1K3
(250) 756-7271
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