New regulations were suggested by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in December in order to reduce the amount of halibut caught by sport fishermen.
For the 2015-2016 halibut season in Southcentral Alaska(3A) the council recommended a two fish daily bag limit with one of those fish 29 inches or below, one trip per day, a prohibition of charter fishing on Thursdays, a one trip per day limit for charter vessels and a five fish annual limit.
These recommendations were due to higher than forecast harvest numbers in the area when halibut have already experienced decline over the last few years.
When the limit of two fish per day with one being 29 inches or less was implemented we spoke with Rachel Baker of NOAA.
Baker: “It’s basically because there aren’t as many young fish recruiting into the fishery is one reason and the fish also aren’t growing to as large of size as they have in more recent history.”
The International Pacific Halibut Commission will also consider the implementations when they meet at the end of January.
