Few fish have to swim through more red tape than the Pacific halibut.
Halibut has been governed by two regulatory bodies for more than 40 years, and 2015 will hopefully see an increase in mutual understanding between the two, as well as a welcome public display of cooperation.
At a joint meeting Feb. 5 in Seattle, the two bodies that control the halibut fishery — the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and the International Pacific Halibut Commission — will review processes of mutual interest, including collection issues relating to stock assessment, bycatch assessment, mortality accounting framework, and abundance-based bycatch limit considerations.
The meeting, sandwiched within one of the North Pacific council’s five regular yearly meetings, will be the first time the bodies sit together to discuss halibut controls and will occur following the IPHC annual meeting Jan. 26-30 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
That IPHC annual meeting will take place against the backdrop of an emergency request sent to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Dec. 18, 2014, by the six Alaskan members of the North Pacific council including Department of Fish and Game interim Commissioner Sam Cotten seeking a 33 percent reduction in the 2015 halibut bycatch limits for the Bering Sea groundfish fishery. The groundfish fishery includes both pollock and flatfish species targeted by midwater and bottom trawl gear, respectively.
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image credit Alaska Journal; John Gibbens
