As expected, catches of Pacific halibut will decrease for this year, and likely into the foreseeable future.
Following an increase in catches last year for the first time in several decades, the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) on Jan. 26 set a “suggested” coastwide catch for 2018 at 28.03 million pounds, a 10.7 million pound reduction. Alaska’s share could be 20.52 million pounds, a drop of 2.1 million pounds from 2017.
The numbers could decline further, as for the first time in memory since the IPHC began its oversight of the stocks in 1923, the six commissioners were not able to agree on catch allocations for the eight halibut fishing regions.
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