Two Halibut, not One!

[Serious Fun]

How about we lobby the ODFW to allow two halibut per day instead of one. They can keep the same 6 fish per year total if they want and they can still set the annual catch quota for the season. This will allow us to make a whole lot better use of the gas and time. What does everyone else think?

2 would be better but we'd be fighting with the charter industry and it will be hard to do. The qtotal catch is the same either way.

[Pilar]

Keta, what do you think about the 'endless season' we are having this fall? Do you think that maybe the 6 fish annual limit could be revisited? You have to wonder where the excess quota came from that allows every Friday and Saturday fishing all fall.

[Fishplay]

It's my understanding we are not working on "excess" quota. It's simply that the fishing has not been that good.

Remember when you flew out to the Ranch dropped your gear and limited the boat with 6 butts on the first drift.

It was not just common occurrance, it was the rule.

The last couple years the fishing has slowly deteriorated.

There were some days where the fish came quick but many days have been tuff fishing.


My questions are:

Are the pacific halibut in decline?
Are we working from good numbers?
Are the well known halibut grounds just seeing too much pressure?
Why is it the quota has become unobtainable?


These are questions I'd want answers to before I started thinking about changes to annual and daily bag limits.

It looks like there are lots of fish in the habatat I've fished. I know there are spots closer to shore that should hold fish too.

[OceanBlue]

Serious Fun - Your questions provoked thought and I took the liberty of submitting the link to this discussion to Don Bodenmiller, biologist and human extraordinnare, of the ODFW Marine Resources program. With his permission, below is his response. My $.02 - Great example of why everyone needs to make it a priority to get to these meetings. YOUR input is highly valuable and if the powers that be don't hear it, they can't do anything about it.

Q. Why not a 2 fish bag?

A. We could adopt a 2 fish bag for 2005, but it is too late for 2004 as this change was not proposed at our September public meeting on proposed changes (although discussed) and it is too late in the process to add it (2 Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting process with proposals in September and decision in November). The 2nd fish over 50-inches was discontinued because the halibut commission (IPHC) was threatening to deduct discard mortality from the catch quota due to expected sorting.

Q. Is the halibut population under decline?

A. The IPHC staff indicate their surveys are suggesting reduced abundance off southern BC and the west coast states (OR, WA, CA). This is after coming off record abundance during the late 1990s.

Q. Are the abundance and harvest numbers good?

A. The IPHC has in recent years been conducting annual abundance surveys. This comes after years of insistence by OR and WA. They had been just associating the abundance in our area with survey work and abundance indications from BC.

The ODFW conducts a fairly intensive creel and we feel our catch estimates are accurate. We often have sampling rates exceeding 30 percent. The area of concern over catch estimates is the small ports that are not always sampled each year (funding dependent). Overall though the catch in these minor ports are a small fraction of what happens in the major ports.

Discard impacts (dead fish) are significant in the trawl fishery where halibut retention is not allowed. In some years the estimated discard is a quarter to a third of the allowable impact (catch and discard of legal sized fish). In recent years this estimate has been improved by carrying observers. The estimated discard for 2004 is approximately 45% of the estimate used for 2003. This decrease largely reflects the reduced trawl fishing on rockfish in recent years.

Q. Why is the quota not likely to be attained in 2003?

A. For halibut fisheries, the open dates must be set preseason and it is difficult to add days inseason (long federal register process). This compares to salmon fisheries which are managed as open unless closed (easy inseason change process). The difference for the halibut management approach is probably a function of it's international connection (the IPHC is an international management body initiated in 1923). For halibut, preseason the number of days are based on quota and expected catch per day. The expected catch per day reflects recent trends and levels. Well, starting in late 2001 the catch per day has declined dramatically and we just did not have enough days identified as open for 2002 and 2003. The reason for the decline is not known, but is probably a result of many factors. This includes economy, increased gas costs, more adverse weather especially in the spring, and increased salmon opportunity. Under consideration for 2004 (to be decided in November by the Pacific Fishery Management Council) is a set of "fixed open days" in May then continuing with an opener every other Friday-Saturday, with possible exceptions to avoid adverse bar conditions, until the Spring quota is met or the end of July (which ever happens first). Then the Summer fishery, which has 25% of the all-depth quota in central Oregon, would be open Friday-Saturday again on an every other week until quota is met or the end of October (which ever happens first). Public meetings (dates and locations not yet set) to discuss this and other proposed changes for 2004 will be conducted in mid to late October. They will be announced on IFISH.

I hope this helps.

Don Bodenmiller
Project Leader for Pacific Halibut Fisheries
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

[Pilar]

Jen, thanks for chasing this down. You are, as usual thorough and very persistent.


Don, when your observers leave at 1700 from the boat ramp, they miss guys like 'Puffin' and 'Pilar'. I tagged out in early June and so did 'Puffin'. No decline in catch on our boats, if anything it went up in numbers and size because we have applied what we learn about the fishery.

I agree that the traditional fishing grounds of the Chicken Ranch, Nelsons island and the other deep water spots have slowed considerably. I think it may have something to do with an observed increase in the average (anecdotal on my boat, we can't get the gear down) drift speed and difficulties finding bluebird days to make that long run and persist on the fishing grounds.

Thanks for the thoughtful response, Don. You are one of the good guys for sure.

[ 09-29-2003, 10:56 AM: Message edited by: Pilar ]

[seasquid]

How about trading Friday for Sunday? My work and Friday/Saturday in the August/fall just don't mesh.

ss