If you're interested in what kind of a halibut season we might have in 2018, there will be a meeting in Olympia on Monday, August 28 starting at 9 a.m. to hear the state proposal that could go forward to the PFMC meeting in Boise, ID in early September.
A coalition of North Olympic Peninsula businesses, anglers, and governmental agencies has been pushing for a longer season to let folks get on the water when tides and weather are conducive to fishing efforts with a daily bag limit of one fish, a field possession limit of two fish, and an annual limit of six fish. The state proposal appears to be for a one fish daily bag and field possession limit and a two fish annual limit.
Additionally, the coalition has proposed changing the PFMC 2A catch share plan that gives up to 70,000 lbs of halibut off the top of the sport harvest share to the sablefish long-line fleet for incidental take. We recognize that incidental take happens, but feel any fish landed should be counted against the non-tribal commercial quota. The proposed change has not been acceptable to the PFMC or WDFW.
The following letter outlines the meeting and a link is provided so you can see the state proposal.
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Dear Recreational Halibut Angler:
Each year, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) holds public meetings to develop and discuss proposed changes to the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Council) Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing Plan (CSP). The Council will review proposed changes for 2018 and consider approving them for public review at their September 11-18 meeting in Boise, Idaho. The Council will approve final changes to the CSP at their meeting November 14-20 in Costa Mesa Grove, California, giving time for the state agencies to work with stakeholders to discuss and refine the changes following the September Council meeting.
WDFW staff has been meeting with stakeholders from both the coastal and Puget Sound regions to address high fishing effort and short seasons in all recreational halibut management areas. Since 2015, stakeholders from both regions have worked to establish season dates that overlap between management areas as much as possible. In 2017, the same season dates were established for all management areas except the Columbia River (Marine Area 1). In addition, the Puget Sound halibut season was managed under a quota management system similar to how the coastal region has been managed for many years. We’ve learned a lot during the first year of a coastwide season structure and look forward to continuing the discussion relative to creating halibut seasons that provide meaningful fishing opportunity that is in balance with the Washington recreational quota.
In June, the Council began scoping changes to the CSP for 2018 and received a briefing from the IPHC. Based on input from agency and advisory body reports and the public, the Council recommended several options be further developed over the summer. A summary of those options is described in the Council’s June Decision Summary Document and includes options proposed for consideration by WDFW for the Washington recreational fishery (Agenda Item G.1.b., Supplemental WDFW Report, June 2017).
http://www.pcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/G1b_Sup_WDFW_Rpt_Jun2017BB.pdfThe Department has scheduled an initial meeting to discuss preliminary options and identify proposed changes to the CSP for 2018 for public review. The meeting will be held on August 28, 2017, at 9:00 a.m. in Room 175 at the Natural Resources Building in Olympia. Click here for directions.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at Heather.Reed@dfw.wa.gov or (360) 902-2487.