Not sure how a 6 fish limit changes anything when we are talking about 4-11 day fisheries.

The charter boats predicted this outcome over 10 years ago when the major changes to Area 3-4 halibut were proposed and accepted by WDFW. I'm sure there would have been shortened seasons regardless based on the increased numbers of people with ocean-capable boats, improved electronics, and internet hotspotting but the season should have never been moved from May 1 and the closure between Neah Bay and La Push should never have been opened up.

The true fixes would hurt a bit. An annual limit of 2 plus bans on electric reels for the non-disabled would make a dent. Close areas known to have larger halibut and try to refocus the fleet on chicken sized fish. You have to reduce the fleet's effectiveness as well as the average size of the fish to have any real impact on season length. Those would be pretty unpopular rules though.

I took full advantage of the changed rules I opposed and the average weight on my boat went from 20-30 to 50-70 overnight. An entire fleet doing that cuts the season in half overnight. Sometimes WDFW has to make hard choices and protect us from own greed. They failed on the coast when they refused to listen to the people most familiar with the fishery.