Does the halibut fishing season need fixing?

Commercial halibut season dates have fluctuated somewhat in recent years.

This year, the season opened March 24 and will close Nov. 7.

Last year, the season ran from March 11 to Nov. 7.

Now, the staff of the International Pacific Halibut Commission is proposing to fix the season dates from March 15 to Oct. 31.

"Fixing the season will allow stakeholders to more effectively develop business plans and will allow the IPHC Secretariat to more effectively monitor and manage the fishery," the IPHC says.

This change appears to have only limited support within the industry.

Earlier this year, the IPHC's Processor Advisory Board said it was OK with fixing the closing date to Nov. 1.

But the advisory board said the opening date should "remain flexible and be determined ... based on advice from stakeholders and depending on the amount of frozen product in inventory, the timing of the Boston Seafood Show, regional tides, and potential weather concerns."

The IPHC is set to hold its interim meeting Nov. 27-28 in Seattle.

Keep it or let it go!

Deckboss was reviewing the hundreds of proposals submitted to the Alaska Board of Fisheries for consideration at its upcoming meeting cycle, and found one of particular interest.

Proposal 228 is a sportfishing proposal aimed at stopping angler "high grading."

"There are problems with anglers keeping fish alive on stringers or in live-wells, holding boxes, etc., then releasing them (high grading) when a bigger fish or a fish in better condition, is caught. This practice causes unneeded mortality," the proposal says.

Currently, state regulations say a fish becomes part of an angler's bag limit when landed and "killed." The proposal would replace "killed" with "not immediately released."

And who is offering Proposal 228? None other than the state Department of Fish and Game.

The board will consider the proposal at its statewide finfish meeting March 19-24 in Anchorage.