Southeast charter industry lays out survival plans

Businesses that take tourists and others out for a day of halibut fishing in Southeast Alaska are facing dire times.

The abundance of halibut is decreasing, with corresponding cuts to catch limits.

New federal regulations now hold paying customers on charter boats to one keeper per day, rather than two.

A recession has staggered the nation's economy.

And the charter and commercial halibut fleets are rivals for fish not only on the water but in court and other forums.

Faced with all these troubles, charter captains are looking to weather the storm and fend off what they see as even greater dangers on the horizon.

The Southeast Alaska Guides Organization, a Sitka-based advocate for charter boat and lodge operators, recently distributed this detailed survival strategy.

Of particular note is a plan to seek $44 million in federal stimulus funding "to mitigate the impact of the recession in communities throughout Southeast Alaska."

What's next for charter halibut case?

Now that a federal judge has declined to block the one-fish rule, tourists and other anglers who go fishing on halibut charter boats in Southeast Alaska (Area 2C) will have to settle for one keeper a day instead of two, effective yesterday.

Now the lawsuit six charter boat operators are pressing against the federal government moves to trial.

"The trial on the merits of the case will likely commence in July," the Halibut Coalition said in a press release Thursday.

The coalition includes commercial halibut fishermen, processors and others who support the one-fish rule as a way to control the growing charter catch halibut in Southeast. That catch ultimately eats away at commercial catch quotas.

Thursday's ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer of Washington, D.C., was particularly interesting because a year ago she granted the charter plaintiffs an injunction blocking the one-fish rule.

She hasn't yet issued a written opinion, but evidently she feels the National Marine Fisheries Service has patched up leaks in the rule since the agency first attempted to impose it.

Update on halibut charter lawsuit

Reliable sources tell me a Washington, D.C., federal judge today declined to grant Southeast Alaska halibut charter boat operators an injunction to block the one-fish bag limit set to take effect tomorrow.

More details as soon as I can snag them.

Court clash Thursday in charter halibut case

Federal Judge Judge Rosemary M. Collyer of Washington, D.C., is scheduled to hear oral argument at 2 p.m. ET Thursday in the charter halibut case (Deckboss, May 22 and 26).

Lawyers for the federal government will try to defend a new regulation, to take effect Friday, that will cut the daily bag limit for charter boat anglers in Southeast Alaska (Area 2C) from two fish to one.

The government says the charter catch has grown to the point that it's causing a conservation concern in Southeast, where halibut abundance has been declining.

A group of charter boat owners and operators, however, is suing the government in a bid to sink the one-fish rule. They argue the rule is an unfair allocation hit against the charter fleet, and note that commercial fishermen, not charter boats, catch the bulk of halibut in Southeast.

The plaintiffs are asking the judge for an injunction to block the one-fish rule. That's the subject of Thursday's hearing.

The charter operators prevailed last year, when the National Marine Fisheries Service first tried to impose the one-fish bag limit.

Will the charter guys beat the regulators again?

Deckboss reckons it'll be only a matter of hours after Thursday's hearing before we see the judge's ruling.

Halibut war helps lawyers

Conflict over the federal government's plan to impose a one-fish daily bag limit on charter boat anglers in Southeast Alaska (Area 2C) is sparking an expensive legal battle.

Both sides, the commercial fleet and the charter fleet, have put out open calls for cash to finance their legal efforts.

Charter boat operators on Friday went to federal court for the second year in a row in an attempt to block the one-fish rule. Last year they successfully persuaded a judge to block the rule based on procedural issues.

The government has refined its rule and is trying again to impose it this summer, saying the reduced bag limit is necessary to curtail the growing charter catch in a region where halibut abundance is declining.

Normally, the bag limit is two fish per day, not one. Charter boat operators say denying their clients a second fish could wreck their businesses.

The one-fish rule takes effect beginning June 5, assuming the charter boat plaintiffs fail to block it again.

In a May 9 fundraising appeal on the Charter Halibut Task Force Web site, Earl Comstock, an attorney for the charter boat operators, said pressing the lawsuit would cost $60,000.

Comstock said success this time is far from guaranteed.

"There is no sure thing in litigation, and everyone needs to understand that the courts give great deference to the government in any court challenge," he wrote.

The lawsuit pits a handful of charter operators against federal regulators trying to impose the one-fish rule. It technically doesn't involve the commercial longliners who favor the rule, viewing the charter fleet as a growing competitor for the limited supply of halibut in Southeast.

Today, however, commercial fishermen, processors and others united as the Halibut Coalition filed as an intervener in the case.

One commercial fishing group, the Petersburg Vessel Owners Association (PVOA), sent out its own fundraising plea on Friday, the day the charter operators filed suit against the National Marine Fisheries Service in federal court in Washington, D.C.

"Every dollar counts, and even though times are tight right now we need your support to protect your livelihood!" the PVOA wrote, directing contributions to the Halibut Coalition. "Ask your crewmembers for a donation, talk to your neighbors at the dock and tell them to send in their support."

Here's the Halibut Coalition's press release on its effort to gain intervener status.

All in all, this thing seems to be shaping up as a bruising fight for all concerned. Except perhaps the lawyers.

Halibut charter operators sue again

Halibut charter boat operators sued the federal government today in an attempt to block a new rule limiting charter anglers to only one keeper per day instead of two in Southeast Alaska (Area 2C).

It's the second year in a row that the charter operators have filed suit. Last year, they succeeded in forcing the government to back off its one-fish rule.

The government has refined the rule and is trying again to impose it this summer. The charter lawsuit was expected.

Government regulators, as well as many commercial fishermen, favor the one-fish rule as a way to curb the growing charter catch in Southeast, where halibut abundance is declining.

Charter operators, however, say such a rule could drive away their clients and ruin the charter business. They note that the commercial fleet catches most of the fish.

Here's the 17-page lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.