The US and Canada have reached a new agreement on a coast wide Pacific halibut quota that is 1.4m pounds above the 2018 quota.
Chris Oliver, administrator for NOAA Fisheries and US Commissioner to the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), said although the 2019 quota of 38.61m pounds is more than in 2018, the catch limits agreed at the IPHC meeting are sustainable.
“While the overall quota for 2019 is a slight increase over 2018, the catch limits agreed to at the meeting reflect a sensible, conservative approach that will secure the future of this iconic and economically important species,” said Oliver.
US majority share
Under the new agreement, Canada will receive a 17.7% share and the US an 82.3% share. The IPHC also agreed to a 1.65m pound allocation for the U.S. West Coast (Area 2A) to address tribal, recreational, and commercial needs in that area.
The Pacific halibut stock has been in a low and declining state for the past ten years. The current state is thought to be related to decadal shifts in environmental conditions affecting recruitment and unexplained low weight-at-age.
Additionally, recent IPHC stock assessments indicate that catch limits in the early 2000s were based on overly optimistic estimates of biomass, leading to higher fishing mortality rates than were intended.
