December 10, 2022 — The Pacific halibut fishery closed Wednesday (Dec. 7) after nine months of fishing.
The overall halibut removals came up just 7% short of the 2022 catch limit of 42.4 million pounds, an increase of 5% over the previous year.
That includes takes by commercial, sport, subsistence users and as bycatch in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California and Alaska.
Alaska’s commercial halibut fishery produced nearly 19.3 million pounds, 10% under the Alaska catch limit.
February 18, 2022 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC or Council) and its advisory bodies will meet March 8-14 in a hybrid format with the Council and its salmon Advisory Bodies meeting in San Jose, California with live streaming and remote participation options. All other ancillary meetings will be held by webinar only. The Council is scheduled to address issues related to salmon, groundfish, highly migratory species, Pacific halibut, ecosystem, and administrative matters.
Briefing materials for the hybrid format Council meeting are available on the Council’s March 2022 briefing book webpage. .
For further information:
•Visit the March 2022 briefing book webpage
•See the March 2022 Council meeting webpage
December 7, 2021 — The Pacific halibut stock appears to be on an upswing that could result in increased catches for most regions in 2022.
At the interim meeting of the International Pacific Halibut Commission last week, scientists gave an overview of the summer setline survey that targets nearly 2,000 stations over three months. The Pacific resource is modeled as a single stock extending from northern California to the Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea, including all inside waters of the Strait of Georgia and the Salish Sea.
The survey results showed that coast-wide combined numbers per setline increased by 17% from 2020 to 2021, reversing declines over the past four years. The coast-wide weights of legal size halibut (over 32 inches) also increased by 4%.
“We’re seeing some new trends this year,” said Ian Stewart, lead scientist for the IPHC, which has managed the fishery for the U.S. and Canada since 1923. “The first is we saw some improving trends from our survey that correspond to a shift both in the fish and in the fishery to younger fish.”
December 1, 2021 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) will host an online meeting of the Area 2A Pacific halibut governmental management entities that is open to the public. The online meeting will be held Tuesday, January 4, 2022, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Pacific Time, or until business for the day has been completed.
Please see the Area 2A Pacific Halibut Manager’s online meeting notice on the Council’s website for participation details.
For further information:
•Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer Ms. Robin Ehlke at 503-820-2410; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.
October 19, 2021 – The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC or Council) and its advisory bodies will meet November 15-19 and 21-22, 2021 by webinar only, to address issues related to coastal pelagic species, groundfish, highly migratory species, salmon, Pacific halibut, and administrative matters.
Please see the November 2021 Council meeting webpage for further updates and details regarding webinar participation; schedule of advisory body meetings, our E-Portal for submitting public comments, and public comment deadlines. The meeting of the Council general session will be streamed live on the internet. The broadcast will begin at 10 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST) Tuesday, November 16, 2021. The meeting will continue daily at 8 a.m. through Monday, November 22nd, except there will be no meetings scheduled on Saturday, November 20th. Broadcasts end daily at 5 p.m. or when business for the day is complete.
Instructions for how to connect to the online meetings will be posted on the Council’s November 2021 meeting webpage prior to the first day of the meeting.
For further information:
•Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff at 503-820-2280; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC or Council) and its advisory bodies will meet November 15-19 and 21-22, 2021 by webinar only, to address issues related to coastal pelagic species, groundfish, highly migratory species, salmon, Pacific halibut, and administrative matters.
Please see the November 2021 Council meeting webpage for further updates and details regarding webinar participation; schedule of advisory body meetings, our E-Portal for submitting public comments, and public comment deadlines. The meeting of the Council general session will be streamed live on the internet. The broadcast will begin at 10 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST) Tuesday, November 16, 2021. The meeting will continue daily at 8 a.m. through Monday, November 22nd, except there will be no meetings scheduled on Saturday, November 20th. Broadcasts end daily at 5 p.m. or when business for the day is complete.
Instructions for how to connect to the online meetings will be posted on the Council’s November 2021 meeting webpage prior to the first day of the meeting.
For further information:
•Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff at 503-820-2280; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.
August 19, 2021 — A team effort over several months resulted in MSC’s recertification of Pacific Halibut and North Pacific sablefish fisheries to include the inside waters of the northern section of Southeast Alaska, including the waters of Chatham Strait, east of Sitka.
Last week the expanded recertification was announced by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and that it now included for the first time the Northern Southeast Inside (NSEI) sablefish fishery.
August 12, 2021 — A commercial fisherman in Alaska will pay a fine of $1 million and spend up to a six months in prison for misreporting his catch.
Kodiak fisherman James Aaron Stevens was sentenced last week for “knowingly submitting false records concerning the locations and regulatory areas where fish were harvested,” according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office, Alaska District.
The attorney’s office announced last August that Stevens had plead guilty to one count of false labeling, which constituted a Lacey Act violation. The false reporting occurred during 26 fishing trips between 2014 and 2017, when Stevens served as the owner and operator of the F/V Southern Seas and the F/V Alaskan Star.
“Specifically, Stevens knowingly falsified International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) logbooks, daily fishing logbooks, Alaska Department of Fish and Game fish tickets, and landing reports to show that fishing gear had been deployed in areas where the vessels did not fish, and omitted areas in which the fish were actually harvested,” the district attorney’s office said. “In addition to his falsified logbooks, the investigation further revealed that Stevens maintained the accurate fishing information in a separate, personal log.”
Stevens falsely reported the harvest of some 903,208 pounds of halibut and sablefish, which added up to around $4.5 million in ex-vessel value and $13.5 million in market value.
August 9, 2021 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC or Council) and its advisory bodies will meet September 8-11 and 13‐15, 2021 by webinar only, to address issues related to groundfish, ecosystem, highly migratory species, salmon, Pacific halibut, and administrative matters.
Please see the September 2021 Council meeting webpage for further updates and details regarding webinar participation; schedule of advisory body meetings, our E-Portal for submitting public comments, and public comment deadlines. There will be no meetings scheduled Sunday September 12th, however, the meeting will continue daily on Monday, September 13 at 8 a.m. through Wednesday September 15, 2021. Meetings of advisory bodies will also be conducted by online meetings based on the schedules in the agenda.
Instructions for how to connect to the online meetings will be posted on the Council’s September 2021 meeting webpage prior to the first day of the meeting.
For further information:
July 2, 2021 — For the first time in at least six years, the California sports fishery for Pacific halibut closed on June 30, months earlier than the usual September closure and among the highest allocations in that period for recreational stakeholders.
Based on the latest catch projections, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) “expects the 2021 California recreational quota of 39,260 net pounds will be exceeded unless the fishery is closed,” the department announced in a statement on Tuesday this week.
April 14, 2021 — Each year in mid-June, Father John, dressed in long black robes, heads to the small boat harbor on St. Paul, a tiny island of 500 souls in the middle of the Bering Sea. It’s the start of the fishing season, and the Blessing of the Fleet is a community affair, an opportunity to give best wishes to the fishermen heading out into the unforgiving northern waters in search of halibut.
The island’s small, independent fishing fleet of only 15 vessels needs all the help it can get: Far offshore, factory trawlers targeting other fish species net and chuck overboard as waste millions of pounds of the valuable fish each year. “They’re killing our halibut,” says St. Paul fisherman Myron Melovidov, who fishes with his grown sons.
Pacific halibut are flat and bottom dwelling, and can weigh hundreds of pounds. About 20 years ago, the population started taking a dive, and St. Paul fishermen—as well as halibut fishermen across Alaska—faced increasing cuts in their harvest limits.
“A lot of people had to fold,” says Jeff Kauffman, a member of the St. Paul fishing fleet whose kids have grown up fishing on his boat.