Eric Olson, Chairman
Chris Oliver, Executive Director
SUBJECT: Title
Halibut Issues
end
ESTIMATED TIME:
6 hours
ACTION REQUIRED: Recommended Action
Recommend management measures for Area 2C and Area 3A for 2014
Body
BACKGROUND:
The Council adopted a new approach to manage the charter halibut fisheries under the Guideline Harvest Level Program beginning in 2012. The Council recommended 1 fish = 45 inches or = 68 inches ("U45O68") for Area 2C in 2012, based on recommendations from its Charter Management Implementation Committee, Advisory Panel, and public, that relied on an ADF&G staff analysis of a range of proposed management measures. The recommended measure accounted for an increased GHL from 788,000 lb in 2011 to 931,000 lb in 2012. For Area 3A the Council recommended status quo (2 fish of any size) based on a decreased GHL from 3,651,000 lb in 2011 to 3,103,000 lb in 2012. The International Pacific Halibut Commission adopted the Council recommendations at its January 2012 Annual Meeting. NMFS published the IPHC regulations in the Federal Register on March 22, 2012 as annual management measures pursuant to 50 CFR 300.62.
The final 2012 halibut harvest estimate for Area 2C is 605,000 lb for the charter sector (Item C-1(a)). The average weight was 14.3 lb for the charter sector. Both metrics were up from 2011, likely due to relaxation of size limits from the 37-inch maximum size limit in 2011 to the U45O68 reverse slot limit in 2012. The final 2012 charter halibut harvest in Area 3A is 2,284,000 lb, with an average weight 13.2 lb.
The 2012 management measures were recommended for 2013 by the Council and adopted by the IPHC. The Area 2C GHL for 2013 dropped back to 788,000 lb. The preliminary 2013 charter halibut harvest projection for Area 2C is 723,000 lb. The average weight is 14.1 lb for the charter halibut sector. The Area 3A GHL for 2013 decreased to 2,734,000 lb. The projected charter halibut harvest in Area 3A is 2,271,000 lb, wi...
Click here for full text