71.0°

After attending the annual International Pacific Halibut Commission meeting in Portland, I feel compelled to point out some of the stark differences I heard in approaches toward halibut management.

The most revealing difference was in different user groups of the halibut resource and their recommendations about what the catch limits should be in face of declining halibut stocks. The Alaska commercial longliners supported the IPHC-recommended catch limits for all areas in Alaska. The commercial fishing industry respects the 80 years of internationally recognized, sustainable fisheries science that the IPHC has provided all of us.

In contrast, the expanding charter sector wanted to change the new coastwide model accepted by everyone at the IPHC meeting to provide for a higher catch limit for themselves that would likely continue to over-fish the stocks. The charter sector has exceeded its catch limit for the last four years. What is sustainable about that?

The Alaska Travel Industry Association and the Recreational Fishing Alliance also supported trying to change the science to allow for higher catch limits for the charter sector without showing concern for the future health of the stocks.

All who subsist through employment in the business of catching fish should accept the reductions in halibut harvest in order to provide for a sustainable resource. The 27 percent reduction this year to the commercial fisherman of Area 2C halibut (Southeast) will result in an estimated $1.5 million in lost wages and revenue and a loss of $57 million in quota share value. Remember that the commercial fleet also took a 20 percent reduction last year.

The charter industry can help our fishing communities stay strong through these years of low abundance by accepting and educating its clients about the need of resource conservation. Everyone needs to be a good steward of the resource so that subsistence, personal use, sport, and commercial have access to halibut in the future. The commercial industry did this by accepting the economic hardships of a significantly lower catch limit recommended by the IPHC staff and adopted by the IPHC commissioners. Acceptance of these lower catch limits will help protect the individual Alaskan's access to a healthy resource.

Jeff Farvour

Halibut longline crew member

Sitka