New Regulations for Alaskan Halibut

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Alaska Halibut Fishing Regulations
For those traveling to Alaska and wanting to do some halibut fishing from your boat, there are important rules you should know. When you get your Alaska fishing license and the fishing regulations booklet you won't see much about halibut. That is because halibut are federally regulated, not the state. NOAA publishes the rules and unfortunately they are not kind to cruisers that live aboard and want to eat halibut they catch.
I stopped by the NOAA office in Sitka today and talked to a law enforcement officer about the current rules. The rules changed over the winter. When you catch a halibut you can cut four fillets and freeze them. New this year, you are allowed to eat one of the fillets but must keep the other three intact. If you catch another halibut, you can cut four fillets but you cannot eat any of it. You are only allowed to have one missing fillet on board. The only way to use the frozen halibut is to transfer it to land.
NOAA will be out there boarding boats this summer. In previous years we've had friends who were boarded, had their halibut confiscated and received a warning letter.
Good luck.

 

[Benthic2]

It sucks to be a fisherman and be forced to eat frozen fish, and it sucks if you are on an extended cruise that you can't eat your catch.

 

[O C Diver]

The only way to use the frozen halibut is to transfer it to land.

So it's ok to cook your fish on an island AKA, a picnic.

Ted

 

[Northern Spy]

So it's ok to cook your fish on an island AKA, a picnic.

Ted

My first thought too! It's OK officer. I ate it on land.

 

[Ken E.]

I have been boarded by NOAA every summer we have been in SE AK. We are usually fishing on the west side of Prince of Wales island and that's where the boardings have been. The patrol boats are out of Juneau. The officers are always friendly and never heavy-handed. They want to see the fillets intact, not cut up into pieces. If they are cut up, they can't tell how many fish you have in possession and will write you a ticket....I don't know the fine since we've never been written up. Anyway, each officer has said that they don't mind if the fillets have had a dinner that's been cut off the end. It would be hard for them to tell anyway based on the fillets' shape, assuming a 50 lb+ fish

 

[Larry M]

Here's the link to the regulations.

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alas...fishing-alaska#unguided-sport-halibut-fishing

ASD: How did your friends in previous years loose their halibuts?

 

[tpbrady]

I just wish they would spend the money they spent on boats to fix a safety issue dealing with weather radio. Cape Fanshaw has been off the air for 4 years.

 

[SeaDogAK]

I suppose some people might be tempted to eat four at a time. As much fresh as they can eat, and a pot of chowder for the rest. Fortunately no one on this forum would do such a thing.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Here's the link to the regulations.

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alas...fishing-alaska#unguided-sport-halibut-fishing

ASD: How did your friends in previous years loose their halibuts?

They cut them into fillers, then cut them into smaller size, vacuum sealed, marked. Problem is the fillets won't fit in the freezer.

Halibut sport fishing enforcement and regulations need to be returned back to the State. Having a federal agency running a State fishery is bs. I don't mind some common sense approach, instead of the over reach and harasport fishermen. fishermen.

 

[SeaDogAK]

They cut them into fillers, then cut them into smaller size, vacuum sealed, marked. Problem is the fillets won't fit in the freezer.

Halibut sport fishing enforcement and regulations need to be returned back to the State. Having a federal agency running a State fishery is bs. I don't mind some common sense approach, instead of the over reach and harasport fishermen. fishermen.

Can’t be done. Halibut move in and out of international waters and federal regulation is under a 1923 treaty between the US and Canada. The State couldn’t regulate Canadian boats fishing in international waters. This is all regulated by the International Pacific Halibut Commission, which is a joint US-Canadian body. Changing that would require amending or abrogating the treaty, which would likely be a big deal for US-Canadian relations.

I have been cruising in SE AK waters for 20+ years and I’ve never been boarded by NOAA.

 

[Benthic2]

Aren't these things huge ? One filet could be 50 pounds!! If a couple tries to eat their alloted freezer capacity they could have 3.95 pounds in their freezer, and be in violation. I would be tempted to start freezing smaller portions in frozen milk containers. They might get suspicious if they found 20 half gallons of frozen milk though. Can you smoke it like salmon ?

 

[SeaDogAK]

They can be huge but I prefer the smaller ones. They taste better and they’re easier to deal with. We get a lot of 10-20 pounders. The huge ones are the old breeding females, it’s better for the stock to let them go.

 

[Benthic2]

In post #11 I said "3.95 pounds" when I meant to say 3.95 filets.

 

[Tator]

I just wish they would spend the money they spent on boats to fix a safety issue dealing with weather radio. Cape Fanshaw has been off the air for 4 years.

Amen!! Amen!!

Tator

 

[Tator]

They can be huge but I prefer the smaller ones. They taste better and they’re easier to deal with. We get a lot of 10-20 pounders. The huge ones are the old breeding females, it’s better for the stock to let them go.

Agree! Agree!

Tator

 

[Marco Flamingo]

With no freezer onboard, the new rule gives rise to a "fillet and release" fishery. Two servings for the boat, the rest for the crabs. Repeat the following day. Obviously the rule is a counter-productive regulation.

I worked a ship with a Norwegian engineer who had fished halibut with his brother when he first immigrated in the 1930's. He wouldn't eat the halibut served onboard because it was "ruined," i.e., it had been frozen.

 

[tpbrady]

This rule smacks of an east coast bureaucrat that failed logic. Individual sport fish limits are based on quantity of fish. Allocation of the halibut resource between different fisheries, sport, commercial, and commercial bycatch is in pounds. Somebody somewhere has a formula to convert the estimated number of sport caught halibut to pounds. If you want to have a possession limit on frozen sport caught halibut on a boat, do it in pounds. It’s easy to measure, doesn’t care about whether it’s one halibut or 10, and doesn’t care about its skin color. If you tell me I can have 50lbs of halibut per license on a boat, I can deal with that. But tell me I can only cut up a halibut into 4 fillets, keep a patch of skin on each, and if I want can eat part of one fails the logic test.

Give me a pound quota like everyone else, sell your enforcement boats, and fix the radios.

If you know of anyone who can influence this rule, please take it on.

Tom

Tom

 

[SeaDogAK]

As I read the rules (https://media.fisheries.noaa.gov/2022-04/ak-unguided-halibut-faq.pdf) it doesn’t require you to freeze your fish. You can keep twice the daily bag limit in possession, (two fish per angler per day), frozen or not. But you can only eat one filet until the fish is permanently unloaded onto land. That last part is new for 2023 - before this year you weren’t supposed to eat any fish on the boat.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Can’t be done. Halibut move in and out of international waters and federal regulation is under a 1923 treaty between the US and Canada. The State couldn’t regulate Canadian boats fishing in international waters. This is all regulated by the International Pacific Halibut Commission, which is a joint US-Canadian body. Changing that would require amending or abrogating the treaty, which would likely be a big deal for US-Canadian relations.

I have been cruising in SE AK waters for 20+ years and I’ve never been boarded by NOAA.

It's called the Magnuson/Stevens ACT.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

They can be huge but I prefer the smaller ones. They taste better and they’re easier to deal with. We get a lot of 10-20 pounders. The huge ones are the old breeding females, it’s better for the stock to let them go.

I think 40-60lbs are the best, but I will take a 100lb + fish too.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Amen!! Amen!!

Tator

It is my understanding that a contract has been awarded to start fixing these sites.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Here's the link to the regulations.

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alas...fishing-alaska#unguided-sport-halibut-fishing

ASD: How did your friends in previous years loose their halibuts?

They were boarded by NOAA, in PWS, had their halibut cut up into 10lb fillets and vacuumed sealed. A citation was issued and fish confiscated. Fine was $2400.

 

[ofer]

if i get stopped and given a citation for that.....let me have it. don't have time for BS on the water.

 

[AKDoug]

I have a friend that went to a lodge in Prince William Sound, they caught and froze daily bag limits of rockfish and halibut. Upon arrival in Whittier they were met by Federal enforcement, who seized all of the frozen halibut but none of the rockfish. Their mistake was in transporting frozen fish with “fishing tackle on board the transporting vessel”. If they had no fishing tackle on board it would have been legal, a real shame since they were in two boats…

A “letter of the law” regulation you won’t find in the F&G regulations the State provides. Doesn’t apply to most cruisers, but it could if you were filling a freezer with a winter supply of fish to take home.

 

[Larry M]

It could be worse. Southeast Alaska charter customers have slot limits and are allowed 1 fish per day.

Area 2C
• One fish daily bag limit: Charter vessel anglers may catch and retain one halibut per day.
• Reverse slot limit: Retained halibut must be less than or equal to 40 inches or greater than or equal to 80 inches in length. This reverse slot limit allows anglers to keep halibut less than approximately 29 pounds and greater than 276 pounds, round weight.
• Monday closures. Charter vessel anglers in Area 2C may not catch and retain halibut (except GAF) on all Mondays beginning July 24, 2023 and continuing through December 31, 2023.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Yeah they really rape the charter fishing industry.

 

[Delta Riverat]

This is truly bizarre. You can only eat a quarter of a fish?

Well OK, we'll just die of hunger with the other 3/4's frozen or rotting on deck...

Yeah, just fine me!

 

[twistedtree]

Has anyone seen any explanation of the reasoning behind the regs? They must have been addressing some problem or loop hole, but it's not at al obvious what.

 

[SeaDogAK]

Has anyone seen any explanation of the reasoning behind the regs? They must have been addressing some problem or loop hole, but it's not at al obvious what.

I think their reasoning is that if you process the fish, or eat it on the boat, then they can’t determine with certainty how many fish you caught. If you have whole filets, they can count them up and make sure you’re not over your limit. The new rule this year allows you to eat one filet, which will still let them count up your fish.

I’m not defending their reasoning, but that’s my understanding.

 

[Delta Riverat]

I understand it too. Written long ago when poaching was a problem.

It's pretty easy to spot a boat set up for fishing vs cruising.

Since they are going to search your boat anyway and know where to look, the difference between a couple of fillets in the top freezer of a fridge in the salon vs 2 hundred pounds in a chest freezer below deck should be easy to spot.

I'd catch 1 fish and eat fresh for 2-3 days and freeze and thaw and eat again until it was gone before I'd kill another fish.

But laws are not written for good folks, just the other kind.