Size Limits and Shrinking Fish

July 24, 2008

Question: A friend of mine recently caught a legal (23 inch) halibut and put it in his cooler to take home. At the end of the day we showed it to a fellow angler and to our surprise the halibut had shrunk to 21.5 inches and was now illegal to keep!

Is there a way to keep the fish so that it actually remains legal after capture or should we just stop fishing and take it home?

Thanks for all your comments and advice that helps keep us on the straight and narrow!!! (David F.)

Answer: It seems very improbable, David, for a 23-inch fish to shrink that much. I think instead it was most likely either measured incorrectly initially or else after it was dead.

Measurements should be taken in a straight line with the mouth closed (1.62 CCR, Title 14). Perhaps the first time you measured the fish, the mouth was not completely closed. Then the next time the fish was measured, the mouth was closed. That might explain the 1.5-inch difference.

Either way, there are no provisions in the regulations to allow for “shrinkage.” If the fish is shorter than the minimum length (22 inches for California halibut) when the warden measures it, regardless of how long it supposedly was when it was caught, the angler may be cited. Once in a while a fish left in open air will have the tail curl slightly as it dries, but the whole fish will not shrink.

Game Warden Todd Tognazinni suggests it is always best to lay the measuring device down or have pre-marked measurements on a flat surface to measure the fish against. Also, don’t measure the fish over the contour of its body as that will not give a straight line measurement and will instead yield an extra length.

If you still have concerns and believe that fish do shrink that much, then maybe you should consider only keeping halibut that are larger than 24 inches long, to allow for shrinkage (or inaccurate measurements).

Shrinkage is real!!

But not more than a half an inch I'd say.

 

Sincerely,

Jim

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LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!

 

Shrinkage is real!!

 

 

Must have gotten really cold later in the day. 

You guys are all crazy!!

NotaSeal

my fish always shrink in the fridge. 


But they get bigger after I release them