Some interesting reading in this publication #59 of the IPHC. RVW brings up a good point and it looks like the Canadians came up with a solution....the comparison between the US and Canada by-catch issues starts on page 36
http://www.iphc.int/publications/techrep/tech0059.pdfCanada
Incidental catch in groundfish trawl fisheries off Canada’s western province of British Columbia, although lower than in Alaska, was still a problem historically. Canada allowed fishing by foreign vessels until 1979. From then to the present, only Canadian domestic vessels have prosecuted the fishery, with the exception of a joint venture operation using midwater trawls for Pacific whiting. Halibut bycatch mortality in the trawl
fishery had been relatively stable, averaging 1.6 million pounds (968 metric tons) annually during 1990 to 1995.
Until 1995, virtually no regulations were in place to control bycatch. A small voluntary observer program had operated for several years providing information to estimate halibut bycatch in the trawl fishery. Then, in 1995, the DFO initiated a staged reduction of trawl bycatch mortality by first implementing a halibut mortality limit for the trawl fishery, with a goal of reducing bycatch mortality to 1 million pounds (605 metric tons) by 1997.
To provide further incentive to reach the bycatch goal, in 1996 DFO implemented a ground-breaking system of individual vessel bycatch quotas (IVBQ), along with a 100% mandatory observer program, for bottom trawl vessels in all major groundfish fi shing areas. The IVBQ system
made individual fishers responsible for their own bycatch, thus providing incentive to minimize their bycatch. Fishers made dramatic changes to
fishing operations, primarily through reduced towing time, improved handling of discarded fish, and increased area/time/depth selectivity
in their operations. Other measures not directly targeted to halibut also had an effect, such as increased trawl mesh size, delayed openings, time/area closures originally directed at reducing rockfi sh bycatch, and a season-long closure of Pacific cod due to conservation concerns. In the end, the trawl
fishery reduced its halibut bycatch mortality from 1.5 million pounds (907 metric tons) in 1995 to approximately 299,000 pounds (181 metric tons) in 1996, well below the 1997 goal. Since that time, bycatch has remained low, ranging from 150,000 to 350,000 pounds (91 to 212 metric tons) annually.
Previously noted in the Directed Fishery section, in 2006 DFO implemented the Commercial Groundfish Integrated Pilot Program, which covered all groundfish fisheries, including halibut. The program sought to address concerns about adequate monitoring, catch reporting, and full accountability of catches. The program was comprised of ITQs for all species, the ability to retain species which had previously been discarded, a requirement that harvesters acquire quota to cover the mortality of all catch, including discards, and quota transfers between fisheries.
The program was refined in the initial years of the pilot period, and became permanent in 2010. Within the Commercial Groundfish Integration Program, halibut can now be retained in some fisheries where it had been historically discarded, but only if quota was obtained from halibut IVQ holders. This allows for a fuller and more accurate accounting of halibut mortality occurring in all fisheries
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