The following letter has been provided as a guest editorial from the Alaska Charter Association. It provides a general description of the governing bodies and associated players involved in the current halibut-allocation debate, as well as detailing issues around the reduced halibut bag limits for guided anglers.
As an Alaskan and sport fishermen, I think that the issue should revolve around two issues: access to the resource for as many anglers as possible and returning the greatest monetary impact for the halibut caught. In both cases, it would only seem logical to me that we would increase the amount of halibut given to the recreational angler, as it allows far more people to benefit from the resource and certainly returns a higher per-pound value.
We need fellow anglers to join in the mission to increase our share of Alaska's halibut. Please join ACA and other organizations in the fight for our rights.
- Marcus Weiner
Publisher, Fish Alaska
Sport-commercial halibut wars are heating up as the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council (NPFMC) and the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) focus on the future of the guided sport-halibut fishery. The outcome of this debate may have a substantial effect on your opportunity to fish.
It is important to remember that halibut stocks are healthy and that this is an allocation issue, not a conservation problem. The Alaska halibut fishery is considered to be one of the healthiest in the world. Conservation of halibut is managed by the International Pacific Halibut Commission, which is a joint US-Canada entity. The IPHC scientifically determines the sustainable harvest and the NPFMC is normally tasked with dividing it up. This issue is a battle over cutting pieces from the pie of harvestable fish. Notable is the fact that both of these entities are made up entirely of commercial fishing interests.
For those who haven't followed the issue, commercial fishermen have worked relentlessly for the past decade to limit the growth of the sport-charter fishery. This year the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has reported that preliminary logbook data suggests that charter harvests have exceeded Guideline Harvest Levels (GHLs) for both area 2C (southeast Alaska) and 3A (southcentral Alaska). GHLs at the time of implementation were devised to be advisory in nature. Currently, they're incorrectly being viewed as hard allocation caps.
With news of these overages, commercial fishermen went on the warpath. They came out in strong numbers at the December and February NPFMC meetings as well as the January IPHC meeting proposing a one-fish limit for sport anglers. As a result, the IPHC has forwarded a ruling for a one-fish sport-charter limit from June 15-June 30 in southcentral Alaska and from June 15-July 30 in southeast Alaska. Ironically, the IPHC at the same time recommended increasing the commercial harvest by 900,000 pounds in Southcentral. This ruling, which was decided behind the closed doors of their Victoria, BC meeting, is both a slap in the face to the recreational fisherman and is unprecedented from a council that has historically taken no part in domestic allocation issues. Anyone who understands this fishery knows that such drastic measures are unnecessary and would deal a devastating blow to the sport fisherman. In the long term, such actions could effectively kill the charter industry and severely impact satellite businesses in coastal communities.
Currently, the sport fishery harvests about 13% of the allowable halibut catch. With the exception of those with commercial fishing interests, most agree that this is not an equitable distribution of fish, nor is it adequate to serve the growing demand for the guided sport-fishing opportunity.
The NPFMC is currently working on a moratorium for the charter fleet as well as a suite of options to manage the charter fleet to the GHLs until a "permanent solution" is put in place. While the impact of this permanent solution on sport fishermen is unknown at this time, representatives from the charter industry have been heavily involved in working toward a more reasonable allocation of fish and a long-term solution that will work for all involved.
The Alaska Charter Association and other charter operators are working hard to make certain that any changes will pose the least threat to the charter industry and to the experience of recreational anglers. The hope is that the charter industry and commercial fishermen can come to an agreement on an equitable long-term plan.
Support from the sport-fishing public is desperately needed. The Alaska Charter Association strongly encourages sport fishermen to take the time to convey their feelings. Donations to help fund the fight are sincerely appreciated and can be made at www.alaskacharter.org. The future of this world-class fishery is on the table now. Please speak up.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
- Matt Kopec
Board of Directors,
Alaska Charter Association
Details on this issue can be found at the NPFMC's web page at
http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc/
Governor of Alaska
Sarah Palin can be reached at
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/govmail.SP.php
United States Secretary of State
Secretary Condoleezza Rice
US Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
Fax: 202-647-2283
United States Secretary of Commerce
Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez
Office of the Secretary Mailstop 61
US Department of Commerce
14th and Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20230
Phone: 202-482-2000
Fax: 202-482-2741
NOAA Fisheries
William T. Hogarth
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
1315 East West Highway
14th Floor
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Alaska Charter Association
www.alaskacharter.org
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