More than 250 halibut industry stakeholders attended the ninetieth annual meeting in Seattle, with over 60 more participating in web broadcasts of the public sessions.
The recommended catch limits by regulatory area are as follows.
2014 Catch Limits
Regulatory Area | Catch Limit (pounds) |
Area 2A (California, Oregon, and Washington) | 960,000 |
Non-treaty directed commercial (south of Pt. Chehalis) | 168,137 |
Non-treaty incidental catch in salmon troll fishery | 29,671 |
Non-treaty incidental catch in sablefish fishery (north of Pt. Chehalis) | 14,274 |
Treaty Indian commercial | 307,500 |
Treaty Indian ceremonial and subsistence (year-round) | 28,500 |
Sport – North of Columbia River | 214,110 |
Sport – South of Columbia River | 197,808 |
Area 2B (British Columbia) (includes sport catch allocation) | 6,850,000 |
Area 2C (southeastern Alaska) (combined commercial/guided sport) | 4,160,000 |
Commercial fishery | 3,318,720 |
Guided sport fishery | 761,280 |
Area 3A (central Gulf of Alaska) (combined commercial/guided sport) | 9,430,000 |
Commercial fishery | 7,317,730 |
Guided sport fishery | 1,782,270 |
Area 3B (western Gulf of Alaska) | 2,840,000 |
Area 4A (eastern Aleutians) | 850,000 |
Area 4B (central/western Aleutians) | 1,140,000 |
Areas 4CDE | 1,285,000 |
Area 4C (Pribilof Islands) | 596,600 |
Area 4D (northwestern Bering Sea) | 596,600 |
Area 4E (Bering Sea flats) | 91,800 |
Total | 27,515,000 |
The Commission approved a season of March 8 – November 7, 2014 for the US and Canadian Individual Quota fisheries.
The Treaty tribal commercial fisheries and the incidental halibut fisheries in Area 2A will occur within these dates.
In Area 2A, seven 10-hour fishing periods for the non-treaty directed commercial fishery are recommended: June 25, July 9, July 23, August 6, August 20, September 3, and September 17, 2014.