Here in Washington 77% of our yelloweye catch is taken during our halibut seasons. Figuring out if the majority of yelloweye taken are incidental while fishing for halibut or targeted after halibut are kept depends on who you talk to and where they are fishing. We do have good halibut spots with very few yelloweye to worry about. But we also have areas that are known as good halibut spots where it is not uncommon to bring up a limit of yelloweye before you get any halibut.

There is a depth restriction regulation that will be put in place if we are projected to exceed the 3 metric ton limit. All fishing, except salmon, will close in waters deeper than 25 fathoms (150 ft). The closure will be based on a series of lines that approximated 150 feet rather than actuall bottom contour. The closure is not to ensure survival of released fish, but to eliminate catching yelloweye at all.