The surplus of good salmon years could sustain a community through periods of lower abundance.

Halibut fishing was done with hook-and-line from offshore canoes.

The halibut hook of the Northwest Coast is one of the most elegant examples of functional design in pre-contact technology.

It was typically made from two pieces of wood or a combination of wood and bone, bent and joined to create a shape that presented the baited hook to the halibut at the right angle to catch in the fish’s mouth.

The hook was designed to work in deep water with a weighted line, and to allow the hooked fish to be brought to the surface without the hook slipping free.