Salt Spring Island mystery

[Spidey]

I'm hoping someone on the board can shed some light on this one: A friend of mine was fishing off a dock on Salt Spring a couple weeks ago and a woman caught a fish (approx. 20+ inches long). My friend - who's not a fisherman - could not describe what it looked like, other than length. Now, the woman said that this fish was about ready to have babies and then my friend witnessed little fish coming out of this larger fish, then hitting the water and starting to swim around. Not eggs....but little fish! Any idea what kind of fish (or mammal) this would beÉ To me, I thought most salt water mammals were of the whale, shark, porpise variety. I have seen my share of fish eggs come out of female fish but never little fish.

Any insights into this mystery are welcome.

[Yellowtail]

Sounds like some kind of surf perch. Surf perch gives live birth instead of laying eggs.

[Cal]

When hooked sometimes fish will regurgitate the contents of their stomachs. While ice fishing I once pulled a rainbow out of Chain lakes that coughed up two minows on the ice, both were alive and when I put them in the hole they swam off. Is he certain the fish was giving birth?

[Geezle]

Well there's only 2 ends they can come out of...