This is from the IPHC program manager for Halibut today.

I can’t recall if we’ve gotten into the details of how bycatch in the trawl fisheries off AK is managed, so this may be a repeat of what I’ve mentioned previously. In any case, the North Pacific Council manages bycatch thru limits on the amount which the trawl fishery is allowed to kill each year. That limit, termed PSC (Prohibited Species Catch) limit, is set at 2000 metric tons (or 3.3 million lbs net weight) for the entire Gulf of AK trawl fisheries. Once the limit is reached, trawling stops and trawl fisheries are closed. So a week of high bycatch by the trawlers is “shooting themselves in the foot”, as it will ultimately impact their ability to catch cod, rock sole, or whatever they may be targeting.

As an aside, the Council is in the process of reducing the PSC limits for the Gulf fisheries. (There is also a limit for all hook-&-line fisheries as well.) The halibut sportfish industry has been sadly under-represented and fairly silent during this debate at Council meetings. Obviously you have concerns about this, so I’d strongly encourage you to get involved by sending letters to the Council and read the documents to see how policy is being shaped and decisions made. The Council is the agency who makes those decisions, not IPHC, and any industry views and comments need to be directed to the Council process.

Here is a link to the Council web site on halibut bycatch:
http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc/bycatch-controls/bsai-goa-halibut-bycatch.html

In no way am I trying to condone the amount of halibut killed as bycatch, Richard. We believe bycatch is higher than I should be, in large part due to the open access management system for the trawl fishery. In other jurisdictions where an IQ program has been established, halibut bycatch has dropped tremendously, to the benefit of all fishers. We have been making comment to the Council on many occasions that bycatch needs to be lowered. I hope you and others in the sport fishing sector will become more vocal in that debate.