Jigging is Sustainable
We catch Rockfish of several species, Pacific Cod, and Lingcod, by jigging. Jigging, not to be confused with the dance of the same name, is fishing with hooks suspended below the boat. A main line is lowered from the reel with a weight on the end. Up to a dozen hooks are attached to the main line, each attached via a short leader so that the hooks stick out from the main line and are arranged vertically, each one a bit higher than the next. We lower the hooks to a spot where we hope our target fish are waiting, and if our luck is good, one or more fish take the lure or bait. The fish are then reeled up to the boat and individually removed from the hook.
Jigging results in very little bycatch, or the capture of unintended fish. Each fish is individually removed from the hook, so the occasional halibut or sculpin that we catch can be released safely. We occasionally catch Rockfish while targeting Pacific Cod, and the Rockfish are retained as allowable bycatch and sold to our customers.