IPHC annual meeting wrapup now available

Here is the official press release summarizing last week's International Pacific Halibut Commission meeting in Anchorage.

Southeast seine permit buyback, take two

For reasons previously noted here on Deckboss, organizers of a proposed buyback of Southeast Alaska salmon seine permits were forced to redo a reverse auction to determine those willing to sell out of the fishery.

That's been done now, and the organizers recently submitted a new capacity reduction plan for approval.

The plan contemplates using more than $13 million in federal loan funds to buy out 64 of the fishery's 379 state permits.

Owners of the 64 permits, and their bid amounts, are listed at the end of the 17-page plan. The bid amounts average $205,204 and range from $175,000 to $240,000.

If the National Marine Fisheries Service approves the plan, seiners will then vote on whether to carry it out.

Another season, another deep cut for halibut

The International Pacific Halibut Commission today approved a coastwide catch limit of 33.54 million pounds, down 18 percent from last year.

The cut compounds the 19 percent reduction seen in 2011.

The season will open on March 17.

The IPHC manages U.S. and Canadian halibut stocks. The bulk of the commercial catch comes from Alaska.

Here is the full slate of 2012 catch limits, by regulatory area, expressed in millions of pounds.

Regulatory area	2011 catch limits	2012 catch limits	% change
2A	0.91	0.99	+9
2B	7.65	7.04	-8
2C	2.33	2.62	+13
3A	14.36	11.92	-17
3B	7.51	5.07	-32
4A	2.41	1.57	-35
4B	2.18	1.87	-14
4CDE	3.72	2.47	-34
TOTAL	41.07	33.54	-18

Click here for a map of IPHC regulatory areas.