The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) concluded their meetings today with recommendations to the governments of Canada and the United States for the combined catch limits for 2014 season which was also approved as March 8 – November 7, 2014. The combined catch limit was adjusted slightly from a proposal approved at the interim meeting in December. For Area 2C, which is southeast Alaska, the commercial fishery catch is limited to 3,318,720 pounds and the guided sport fishery to 761,280 pounds. The 2014 guided sport limit is less than last year’s limit but more than the estimated harvest of 723,000 pounds. Non-guided (private) sport catch was estimated at 904,000 pound last year.
Alaska Fish and Game will finalize the 2014 regulations soon. Non-pelagic rockfish sport fishing regulations were announced January 2, 2014. I’ll post a blog on rockfish regulations in February. We’ll be using the Shelton Fish Descender (SFD) on my boat for the first time this year to return rockfish and avoid mortality from barotrauma. Use of a descender device is not mandatory for a private boat but I feel it’s doing something right and sooner or later it will be mandatory for all sport fishermen, not just the guided sport fishery.
