Sushihunter
Active Member
Here is a link to some great info on Halibut:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/fishwatch/species/pacific_halibut.htm
Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis)
Pacific halibut populations are healthy. They are not overfished, and overfishing is not occurring.
Pacific halibut is managed by a treaty between the U.S. and Canada through recommendations of the International Pacific Halibut Commission.
Halibut is low in saturated fat and sodium and is a very good source of protein, niacin, phosphorus, and selenium. For more on nutrition, see Nutrition Facts. (USDA)
A total of 97 percent of all halibut landed in the U.S. in 2005 were Pacific halibut.
Sustainability Status
Biomass: 2006 estimated exploitable biomass was 382 million pounds (173,272 metric tons) for all regulatory areas.
Overfishing: No
Overfished: No
Fishing and habitat: Bottom longline gear is the main commercial gear used to target halibut. The effects of bottom longline gear on habitats are poorly understood but could include disturbance of sediments, benthic structures, and other organisms.
Bycatch: Seabirds, including short-tailed albatross, blackfooted/Laysan albatross, northern fulmars, and shearwaters. Regulations are in effect that make it mandatory for longline vessels to use seabird avoidance devices. The IPHC is also involved in bird bycatch research and acts as a repository for multi-agency observations on seabird distribution. The commercial fishery switched from J-hooks to circle hooks in 1983, which lowered mortality on sub-legal sized halibut released during commercial fishing. Incidentally-caught groundfish stocks include some that are overfished, such as canary and yelloweye rockfish in Washington and Oregon waters, as well as healthy stocks of Pacific cod, other rockfish, and flatfish. Regulations prohibit commercial Pacific halibut fisheries in specific depths off Washington, Oregon, and California, and conservation areas are closed to all fishing in several areas off the Pacific coast and Bering Sea.
Aquaculture: There is no commercial culturing activity of Pacific Halibut in the west coast of the United States and Alaska.
Science and Management
Pacific halibut is managed by the United States and Canada through the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), formed in 1923. The IPHC annually establishes total allowable catch (TAC) levels for halibut that will be caught commercially in the U.S. and Canadian exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and assesses the abundance and potential yield of Pacific halibut using all available data from the commercial, subsistence, and sport fisheries, as well as from scientific surveys and observations of bycatch in non-target fisheries. The first management measure, a 3-month winter closure, was placed on the fishery in 1924. Management of the Alaskan halibut fishery is based on the IPHC agreement between Canada and the U.S. and is given effect in the U.S. by the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982. Per the terms of the Act, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) recommends regulations to govern the directed and incidental fisheries in waters off Alaska, provided that its actions do not conflict with regulations adopted by the IPHC. Actions must be approved and implemented by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. In 1995, the NPFMC and NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) implemented an individual quota system for Alaska, similar to Canada's (implemented in 1991), for the halibut industry. As a result, the commercial fishing season was extended from only days to 8 months or more, the value of the fishery has increased, bycatch has been reduced, and fewer fishermen have lost their lives.
The U.S. waters off the states of Washington, Oregon, and California are managed as Area 2A; regulations for Area 2A are established by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) and NMFS Northwest Regional Office. Halibut in this regulatory area are divided between tribal and non-tribal fisheries, between commercial and recreational fisheries, and among recreational fisheries in different states (Washington, Oregon, and California). The PFMC describes this halibut catch division each year in the Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing Plan for Area 2A.
Halibut is also a popular target for sport fishermen and an important part of many tribal cultures. Oregon, Washington, and California have catch limits for recreational halibut fishing; closed seasons, minimum size limits, bag limits, and possession limits are all used to control the fishery. Community harvest permits, ceremonial permits, and educational permits provide for traditional uses within Alaska Native cultures. Today, the U.S. West Coast non-Indian commercial directed halibut fishery consists of a "derby fishery" system of 10-hour openings and fishing period limits. There are also limited-retention halibut fisheries incidental to sablefish and salmon fisheries.
In June 2007, NOAA published a final rule to reduce sport fishing mortality on halibut in a manner that would lessen the economic impacts on the charter fishery, its clients, and coastal communities. The current bag limit of two halibut per day for a person sport fishing on a charter vessel in Area 2C would be modified to require that at least one of the two fish taken in a day be no more than 32 inches in length. (If only one halibut is retained by the sport fishing client, it could be of any length.) The regulation is intended to reduce charter halibut harvests. The North Pacific Council has endorsed the regulation and recommended that an annual limit of four halibut per angler also be implemented in 2008, so that the fishery's guideline harvest level (GHL) of 1.432 million pounds (650 metric tons) can be met. Charter halibut harvests in 2006 exceeded this GHL by more than 40 percent. The Council is also examining proposed management options to reduce charter halibut harvests in Area 3A in 2008, because its GHL was exceeded by more than 9 percent in 2006.
--- Lots more info at the link!
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/fishwatch/species/pacific_halibut.htm
Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis)
Pacific halibut populations are healthy. They are not overfished, and overfishing is not occurring.
Pacific halibut is managed by a treaty between the U.S. and Canada through recommendations of the International Pacific Halibut Commission.
Halibut is low in saturated fat and sodium and is a very good source of protein, niacin, phosphorus, and selenium. For more on nutrition, see Nutrition Facts. (USDA)
A total of 97 percent of all halibut landed in the U.S. in 2005 were Pacific halibut.
Sustainability Status
Biomass: 2006 estimated exploitable biomass was 382 million pounds (173,272 metric tons) for all regulatory areas.
Overfishing: No
Overfished: No
Fishing and habitat: Bottom longline gear is the main commercial gear used to target halibut. The effects of bottom longline gear on habitats are poorly understood but could include disturbance of sediments, benthic structures, and other organisms.
Bycatch: Seabirds, including short-tailed albatross, blackfooted/Laysan albatross, northern fulmars, and shearwaters. Regulations are in effect that make it mandatory for longline vessels to use seabird avoidance devices. The IPHC is also involved in bird bycatch research and acts as a repository for multi-agency observations on seabird distribution. The commercial fishery switched from J-hooks to circle hooks in 1983, which lowered mortality on sub-legal sized halibut released during commercial fishing. Incidentally-caught groundfish stocks include some that are overfished, such as canary and yelloweye rockfish in Washington and Oregon waters, as well as healthy stocks of Pacific cod, other rockfish, and flatfish. Regulations prohibit commercial Pacific halibut fisheries in specific depths off Washington, Oregon, and California, and conservation areas are closed to all fishing in several areas off the Pacific coast and Bering Sea.
Aquaculture: There is no commercial culturing activity of Pacific Halibut in the west coast of the United States and Alaska.
Science and Management
Pacific halibut is managed by the United States and Canada through the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), formed in 1923. The IPHC annually establishes total allowable catch (TAC) levels for halibut that will be caught commercially in the U.S. and Canadian exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and assesses the abundance and potential yield of Pacific halibut using all available data from the commercial, subsistence, and sport fisheries, as well as from scientific surveys and observations of bycatch in non-target fisheries. The first management measure, a 3-month winter closure, was placed on the fishery in 1924. Management of the Alaskan halibut fishery is based on the IPHC agreement between Canada and the U.S. and is given effect in the U.S. by the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982. Per the terms of the Act, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) recommends regulations to govern the directed and incidental fisheries in waters off Alaska, provided that its actions do not conflict with regulations adopted by the IPHC. Actions must be approved and implemented by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. In 1995, the NPFMC and NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) implemented an individual quota system for Alaska, similar to Canada's (implemented in 1991), for the halibut industry. As a result, the commercial fishing season was extended from only days to 8 months or more, the value of the fishery has increased, bycatch has been reduced, and fewer fishermen have lost their lives.
The U.S. waters off the states of Washington, Oregon, and California are managed as Area 2A; regulations for Area 2A are established by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) and NMFS Northwest Regional Office. Halibut in this regulatory area are divided between tribal and non-tribal fisheries, between commercial and recreational fisheries, and among recreational fisheries in different states (Washington, Oregon, and California). The PFMC describes this halibut catch division each year in the Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing Plan for Area 2A.
Halibut is also a popular target for sport fishermen and an important part of many tribal cultures. Oregon, Washington, and California have catch limits for recreational halibut fishing; closed seasons, minimum size limits, bag limits, and possession limits are all used to control the fishery. Community harvest permits, ceremonial permits, and educational permits provide for traditional uses within Alaska Native cultures. Today, the U.S. West Coast non-Indian commercial directed halibut fishery consists of a "derby fishery" system of 10-hour openings and fishing period limits. There are also limited-retention halibut fisheries incidental to sablefish and salmon fisheries.
In June 2007, NOAA published a final rule to reduce sport fishing mortality on halibut in a manner that would lessen the economic impacts on the charter fishery, its clients, and coastal communities. The current bag limit of two halibut per day for a person sport fishing on a charter vessel in Area 2C would be modified to require that at least one of the two fish taken in a day be no more than 32 inches in length. (If only one halibut is retained by the sport fishing client, it could be of any length.) The regulation is intended to reduce charter halibut harvests. The North Pacific Council has endorsed the regulation and recommended that an annual limit of four halibut per angler also be implemented in 2008, so that the fishery's guideline harvest level (GHL) of 1.432 million pounds (650 metric tons) can be met. Charter halibut harvests in 2006 exceeded this GHL by more than 40 percent. The Council is also examining proposed management options to reduce charter halibut harvests in Area 3A in 2008, because its GHL was exceeded by more than 9 percent in 2006.
--- Lots more info at the link!
