Some more info on sport fishing for halibut that we are looking at. Things are heating up on the halibut front. The following links are provided so that you can see what is on the table for consideration in 2006. The 2005 season is pretty well locked in and might have a smaller quota than 2004. If that is the case and the pressure is the same, the 2005 will be a short one. There will be changes in 2006 and some may be quite drastic. The concern is the quickness with which the sport quotas are filled. There are a couple of links at the bottom of this message that will give you some background into the proposals that will be discussed in Montesano on Thursday, January 6, 2005 at the WDFW office. The meeting will start at 10 a.m. If you are interested in sport fishing for halibut in the ocean, you should show up and make your feelings known. From my perspective, the last two meetings have been heavily weighted towards the charter operators and sport fishing ideas aren’t getting much accommodation. The press release (link below) talks about public meetings, but doesn’t mention the Montesano meeting. That information came in a mailing to those of us who have attended one of the last two meetings.

The ad hoc halibut committee is not formalized within WDFW like steelhead, salmon, or inland fisheries to name a few. Sport fishing interests need a better avenue for communication with the Director and Commission than through an ad hoc committee whose meetings are called for on an as-needed basis by WDFW staff. In addition to halibut, Dungeness crab and the sport fish advisory groups are also handled through ad hoc committees. An item for discussion at the January 8 PSA state board meeting will be the status of advisory groups to WDFW. PSA won’t have a position in time for the meeting in Montesano. That said, it would be appropriate for any sport fisher attending the halibut meeting to ask for official recognition of the halibut group with the same status as other advisory groups.


http://www.wdfw.wa.gov/fish/creel/halibut/

http://www.iphc.washington.edu/halcom/newsrel/2004/nr20041208.htm