IPHC annual meeting wrapup now available

Here is the official press release summarizing last week's International Pacific Halibut Commission meeting in Anchorage.

Southeast seine permit buyback, take two

For reasons previously noted here on Deckboss, organizers of a proposed buyback of Southeast Alaska salmon seine permits were forced to redo a reverse auction to determine those willing to sell out of the fishery.

That's been done now, and the organizers recently submitted a new capacity reduction plan for approval.

The plan contemplates using more than $13 million in federal loan funds to buy out 64 of the fishery's 379 state permits.

Owners of the 64 permits, and their bid amounts, are listed at the end of the 17-page plan. The bid amounts average $205,204 and range from $175,000 to $240,000.

If the National Marine Fisheries Service approves the plan, seiners will then vote on whether to carry it out.

Another season, another deep cut for halibut

The International Pacific Halibut Commission today approved a coastwide catch limit of 33.54 million pounds, down 18 percent from last year.

The cut compounds the 19 percent reduction seen in 2011.

The season will open on March 17.

The IPHC manages U.S. and Canadian halibut stocks. The bulk of the commercial catch comes from Alaska.

Here is the full slate of 2012 catch limits, by regulatory area, expressed in millions of pounds.

Regulatory area	2011 catch limits	2012 catch limits	% change
2A	0.91	0.99	+9
2B	7.65	7.04	-8
2C	2.33	2.62	+13
3A	14.36	11.92	-17
3B	7.51	5.07	-32
4A	2.41	1.57	-35
4B	2.18	1.87	-14
4CDE	3.72	2.47	-34
TOTAL	41.07	33.54	-18

Click here for a map of IPHC regulatory areas.

How about a (bigger) loan?

Down in Juneau today, the House Special Committee on Fisheries has a 5 p.m. hearing scheduled on two interesting items.

The first is House Bill 261, which provides for larger state loans to help Alaska residents buy commercial fishing permits.

This sponsor statement explains more fully what the bill is about.

The Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp. has sent in a letter supporting HB 261.

Cordova District Fishermen United also likes the bill.

The second item on the committee's agenda is this resolution seeking to designate one sportfish seat and one subsistence seat on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

Following up on those geoduck proposals

You might recall our recent post about the state Board of Fisheries considering two proposals to establish "equal shares" for permit holders in the Southeast geoduck clam fishery.

So what happened?

The board, meeting in Petersburg, took no action on the proposals.

A busy morning for rescuers

Here's a press release from the U.S. Coast Guard:

Jan. 25, 2012

Air Station Kodiak rescues 11 from two fishing vessels

JUNEAU — Coast Guard helicopter crews this morning rescued 11 fishermen from two vessels near Kodiak.

Kodiak watchstanders received a call Tuesday night from the 58-foot fishing vessel Kimberly, homeported in Juneau, stating the vessel had run aground in Portage Bay and needed assistance.

An Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter launched at about 9:30 p.m. and arrived on scene within an hour. Foul weather, including sustained 60-knot winds with gusts up to 90 knots and 16-foot seas, prevented the aircrew from rescuing the personnel at that time.

The Jayhawk returned to Kodiak to refuel and a Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules airplane and a second Jayhawk were launched to assist the crew of the Kimberly.

As aircrews were returning to assist the Kimberly, Coast Guard Sector Anchorage received a mayday call at 6:30 a.m. from the fishing vessel Heritage south of Kodiak with seven people aboard.

The second Jayhawk was redirected to assist the 68-foot Heritage. Air Station Kodiak launched a third helicopter to assist the Kimberly.

The third helicopter arrived at the Kimberly's location, safely hoisted all four crewmembers and arrived at Air Station Kodiak at 10:30 a.m.

The second Jayhawk continued to the Heritage's location, arriving at about 7 a.m., and began rescuing survivors. Two crewmembers were safely hoisted from the water and the good Samaritan fishing vessel Tuxedni rescued the other five crewmembers from a life raft at 7:40 a.m.

The second Jayhawk crew returned to Kodiak with the two rescued Heritage crewmembers at 9 a.m. and the Tuxedni took the passengers to Lazy Bay. The Tuxedni and five survivors are expected to arrive in Kodiak at 1 p.m. Thursday.

The crews of both vessels were wearing survival suits and are reported to be in good or fair condition.

IPHC makes port call in Anchorage

The International Pacific Halibut Commission is holding its annual meeting today through Friday at the Hilton Anchorage.

Of course, the IPHC annual meeting is a big event on the commercial fisheries calendar. It's when the bilateral panel — three members from the United State and three from Canada — sets catch limits for the upcoming season.

Here's a handout, known as the Bluebook, containing the meeting schedule, a summary of the 2011 fishery, the latest assessment of the Pacific halibut stock, and much more.

As previously reported here on Deckboss, the meeting is likely to culminate with some rather dismal news.