Lingcod Egg Mass Survey: Join in on our upcoming Club Dives!
We are at the start of Lingcod Egg Mass Season, and it's time to do our part! We are working with the Vancouver Aquarium to collect and submit data that supports valuable research to ensure the species is recovering from historical over fishing. We will undertake the survey on each of our upcoming Club Dives between January and March. Participation in the survey isn’t required, but if you would like to join in we will brief you on how to undertake the survey and record all data we find. The data submitted will be sent to the Vancouver Aquarium and all divers who participate will get full credit for each survey submitted.
Calling All Divers
In 1994, the Marine Life Sanctuaries Society (MLSS) created a project to involve the sport diving community in assisting with the collection of data on lingcod populations. At the time the commercial lingcod fishery in the Strait of Georgia had recently been closed, and the sport fishery was restricted by new size limits and annual bag limits. This project, now sponsored and organized by the Vancouver Aquarium, is called the Lingcod Egg Mass Survey (LEMS).
By taking part in the Annual Lingcod Egg Mass Survey, you are helping to gather important information about a valuable local resource, which has declined to just 7-22% in the Strait of Georgia. Divers participating in this annual survey collect information on the number, size, condition, and position of egg masses, as well as whether or not a guarding male is present. Data such as these help us determine the health of local lingcod populations.
The survey is carried out just after mature female lingcod spawn. After spawning, the female leaves the male to guard the nest site. The behavior of the guarding male and the distinctive Styrofoam appearance of the egg masses are easily identified by divers. The size of the egg mass indicates the age of the spawning female while the number of egg masses observed in a given area helps researchers determine lingcod abundance. The survey uses data collected by divers to evaluate the status of lingcod populations on the coast of B.C. These data provide information on the reproductive outputs of lingcod, as well as an insight into the age structure of the female lingcod population.
The next survey will take place January-March, 2020. Read the 2019 Lingcod Egg Mass Survey Report.
Upcoming Lingcod Egg Mass Survey Club Dives
Sign Up Today!
Fancy doing the survey with your buddies?
There are specific instructions on how to identify and record data for the survey and these can change from year to year. Simply download the Instruction Package and read it thoroughly before heading out on your dives. You can submit your counts at: https://research.ocean.org/survey/lingcod
Thank You!
