Halibut takes another hit

The International Pacific Halibut Commission today announced a coastwide catch limit of 29.7 million pounds for this year.

That's down 15.8 percent from 2024. It's the third consecutive year for a substantial cut in the coastwide limit.

Notably for the upcoming season, the catch limit in Area 3A (Southcentral Alaska) is 9.1 million pounds, down more than 20 percent, while Area 2B (British Columbia) is down 15.8 percent to just under 5.5 million pounds.

The commission recommended season dates of 6 a.m. local time March 20 to midnight Dec. 7.

Halibut dips again

Halibut quotas will be down again this year.

The International Pacific Halibut Commission, meeting in Anchorage, today announced a coastwide catch limit of 35.3 million pounds, a 4.6 percent decline from last year.

The IPHC recommended a fishing season beginning at 6 a.m. local time March 15 to midnight Dec. 7 for all directed commercial Pacific halibut fisheries in Canada and the United States.

Here's a press release with catch limits by regulatory area. For comparison, here's last year's press release.

Halibut retreats

The International Pacific Halibut Commission finally got around to issuing a press release with this year's catch limits and season dates.

The commission set a coastwide catch limit of 36.97 million pounds, a 10.3 percent decline from last year.

The season will run from March 10 to Dec. 7.

Halibut ticks up

The International Pacific Halibut Commission has set a coastwide catch limit of 41.2 million pounds, a 5.7 percent increase from last year.

The season will run from March 6 to Dec. 7.

Halibut uptick

The International Pacific Halibut Commission wrapped up its annual meeting today, setting a coastwide catch limit of 39 million pounds.

That's an increase of 6.6 percent from last year.

The commission recommended a season of March 6 to Dec. 7 for all directed commercial halibut fisheries in Canada and the United States.

More numbers in this press release.

Halibut takes a dip

The International Pacific Halibut Commission today set a coastwide catch limit of 36.6 million pounds for this year.

That's a reduction of 5.2 percent from last year.

The commission set season dates of March 14 to Nov. 15.

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

Here is the full slate of 2020 catch limits, by regulatory area, expressed in millions of pounds.

Regulatory area	2019 catch limits	2020 catch limits	% change
2A	1.65	1.65	Same
2B	6.83	6.83	Same
2C	6.34	5.85	-7.7
3A	13.5	12.2	-9.6
3B	2.9	3.12	+7.6
4A	1.94	1.75	-9.8
4B	1.45	1.31	-9.7
4CDE	4.0	3.9	-2.5
TOTAL	38.61	36.6	-5.2

Click here for a map of IPHC regulatory areas.

Halibut season opens at noon Friday

Here's a Pacific Fishing magazine article with catch limits and the status of the halibut stock.

Unusual news out of the halibut commission

The International Pacific Halibut Commission's annual meeting in Portland ended in a stalemate.

"The IPHC did not agree on new Pacific halibut catch limits for 2018, and therefore the catch limits adopted by the IPHC in 2017 remain in place," says this commission news release.

The United States and Canada now say they'll each pursue lower catch limits on their own.

Halibut gets a boost

The International Pacific Halibut Commission today announced catch limits for 2017.

The limits total 31.4 million pounds coastwide, a 5 percent increase over last year's limits.

The season will open March 11 and run to Nov. 7.

Halibut catch limit up slightly

The International Pacific Halibut Commission today announced catch limits for the 2016 season.

The coastwide limit of nearly 29.9 million pounds is up slightly from last year's 29.2 million pounds.

The season will open March 19 and run to Nov. 7.

Here's the full breakdown of catch limits by regulatory area.

For comparison, here are last year's limits.

Halibut goes up for a change

The International Pacific Halibut Commission has set a 2015 catch limit of 29.2 million pounds, up 6 percent from last year.

The season will run from March 14 to Nov. 7.

Here's the full breakdown of catch limits by regulatory area.

For comparison, here are last year's limits.

NMFS urges relief on Bering Sea halibut

We've heard considerable worry that halibut catch limits in the Bering Sea (Area 4CDE) could go drastically lower this year, dealing a serious blow to fishermen from St. Paul and other communities.

Now we have the federal government's position on the matter with this letter from Eileen Sobeck, head of the National Marine Fisheries Service, to the International Pacific Halibut Commission.

Sobeck recommends "a limited increase in the Area 4CDE catch limits in 2015 relative to the current IPHC harvest policy."

This, says Sobeck, would not hurt the halibut stock, would help spare local people economic hardship, and would recognize good progress by groundfish trawlers to reduce halibut bycatch.

The letter comes ahead of the IPHC's annual meeting Jan. 26-30 in Vancouver, British Columbia, where the 2015 catch limits will be set.

Halibut catch limit down 11 percent

The International Pacific Halibut Commission has set a 2014 catch limit of 27.5 million pounds, an 11 percent cut from last year.

The season will run from March 8 to Nov. 7.

Here's the full breakdown of catch limits by regulatory area.

For comparison, here are last year's limits.

21 percent cut for halibut suggested

The staff of the International Pacific Halibut Commission this week recommended catch limits for the 2014 season.

As you can see from the chart below, we appear to face another year of general decline.

The commission will set final limits at its annual meeting Jan. 13-17 in Seattle.

Numbers are expressed in millions of pounds.

Regulatory area	2013 catch limits	2014 staff advice	% change
2A	0.99	0.72	-27
2B	7.04	4.98	-29
2C	2.97	4.16	+40
3A	11.03	9.43	-15
3B	4.29	2.84	-34
4A	1.33	0.85	-36
4B	1.45	0.82	-43
4CDE	1.93	0.64	-67
TOTAL	31.03	24.45	-21

Click here for a map of IPHC regulatory areas.

Halibut harvesters catch a break

The International Pacific Halibut Commission today approved a coastwide catch limit of 31.03 million pounds for this year.

That's a reduction of over 7 percent from last year.

But the cut could have been much deeper, with commissioners considering a suggested 33 percent reduction coming into the IPHC annual meeting this week in Victoria, British Columbia.

The commission set season dates of March 23 to Nov. 7.

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

Here is the full slate of 2013 catch limits, by regulatory area, expressed in millions of pounds. Figures are rounded slightly.

Regulatory area	2012 catch limits	2013 catch limits	% change
2A	0.99	0.99	Same
2B	7.04	7.04	Same
2C	2.62	2.97	+13
3A	11.92	11.03	-7
3B	5.07	4.29	-15
4A	1.57	1.33	-15
4B	1.87	1.45	-22
4CDE	2.47	1.93	-22
TOTAL	33.54	31.03	-7

Click here for a map of IPHC regulatory areas.

What people are saying about halibut catch limits

As previously noted here on Deckboss, the International Pacific Halibut Commission is meeting Jan. 24-27 in Anchorage to consider this slate of recommended catch limits for the 2012 season.

The IPHC invited public comments, and you can read them here.

More on halibut

Here is the official press release from last week's International Pacific Halibut Commission meeting in Seattle, where the scientific staff recommended catch limits for the 2012 season.

Evidently, at least one prominent Alaskan, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, was none too pleased with the proceedings and issued this statement:

"It is disappointing to hear further reductions are likely, and that the IPHC is suggesting potentially drastic model changes may be needed that would cause steeper reductions. Whether the changes are incorporated this year or in future years, the discussion creates more uncertainty for the commercial fishing industry, sport charter businesses, and Alaska's fishing communities that have already taken a serious economic hit from reduced harvest levels and changing management measures.

"I'm also concerned at the manner the commission staff presented its findings and data. Conflicting information, lack of clear recommendations, topped off by an abrupt end to the public portion of the meeting combined to leave important questions unanswered about the crucial steps needed to ensure the health of our halibut resource and fisheries."

19 percent cut recommended for halibut fishery

The scientific staff of the International Pacific Halibut Commission today made recommendations on catch limits for the 2012 season.

The commission itself will consider the recommendations at its Jan. 24-27 annual meeting in Anchorage.

Here are the numbers, expressed in millions of pounds.

Regulatory area	2011 catch limits	2012 staff advice	% change
2A	0.91	0.99	+9
2B	7.65	6.63	-13
2C	2.33	2.62	+12
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	33.14	-19

Halibut cuts confirmed

Here are the major results from the International Pacific Halibut Commission annual meeting in Victoria, British Columbia:

• The commission pretty much accepted the recommendations of its scientific staff and approved a coastwide catch limit of 41.07 million pounds for the 2011 season, down 19 percent from last year.

• Southeast Alaska (Area 2C) will take a particularly hard hit with a catch limit of 2.33 million pounds, down 47 percent.

• The 2011 season will open March 12 and close Nov. 18.

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

Here's the full slate of 2011 catch limits, by regulatory area, expressed in millions of pounds.

Regulatory area	2010 catch limits	2011 catch limits	% change
2A	0.81	0.91	+12
2B	7.5	7.65	+2
2C	4.4	2.33	-47
3A	19.99	14.36	-28
3B	9.9	7.51	-24
4A	2.33	2.41	+3
4B	2.16	2.18	+1
4CDE	3.58	3.72	+4
TOTAL	50.67	41.07	-19

Halibut trouble

As reported last month here on Deckboss, the scientific staff of the International Pacific Halibut Commission is making some tough recommendations on catch limits for the upcoming season, including a 47 percent cut for Southeast Alaska (Area 2C).

The six-member commission is meeting Jan. 25-28 in Victoria, British Columbia, to consider these recommendations.

One Sitka-based commercial fishing group, the Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association, says it was "staggered" by the staff recommendations and has provided these thoughtful comments to the commissioners.

Among other things, the organization says it can't understand the 47 percent cut in Area 2C, and adds that "constantly changing harvest policies" are undermining stakeholder confidence in halibut management.