IPHC Cuts Coastwide Commercial Halibut Catch By 18%
In a somber and tense meeting of the International Pacific Halibut Commission in Vancouver, British Columbia, stakeholders faced with the lowest spawning biomass in 40 years opted to cut the commercial catch limits for the 2025 season by just over 18%.
The 2025 quotas were announced Jan. 31.
The fishery has been scheduled to open at 6 a.m. on March 20 and run through 11:50 p.m. on Dec. 7.
“The halibut spawning biomass is at historic low levels,” Linda Behnken, a veteran commercial harvester and executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, said.
“Stock productivity is low with no obvious strong year classes on the horizon,” she continued. “Reductions in catch limits are necessary, but would be less painful if Canada’s harvest was proportional to the abu...