January 29, 2017 — More Pacific halibut will be going to market this year due to an overall boost in harvests for the West Coast, British Columbia and Alaska. The coast-wide limit of 31.4 million pounds reflects a 5.1 percent increase and, for the first time in decades, not a single fishing region faces a decline its allowable catch.
The heartening news was released Friday by the International Pacific Halibut Commission, overseer of the stocks since 1923.
Halibut catch limits are determined by summer surveys at more than 1,200 stations from Oregon to the Aleutians. In 2016, the results showed the stock had remained stable over a span of three years, although the fish remained small for their ages.