Originally Posted By: Carcassman
In a book I read on Indian fishing, and supported elsewhere, halibut could be fished size-selectively based on hook size. While it would lower the number of halibut caught, moving to a large enough hook size could avoid many rockfish, thereby significantly reducing by catch issues. It would probably lengthen the season but lower the CPUE as the target would be larger fish.


Just an unsupported opinion (no data) the halibut season is so short any benefit to rockfish by a larger hook requirement would be minimal compared to mandatory use of descender device in coastal waters. How that larger hook size might impact average size of halibut hooked and retained and, consequently, the rapidity of using up the sport allocation is another discussion.

I will suggest that addressing the issue of commercial by-catch of halibut could yield quicker and larger improvements in recreational halibut seasons.
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