Fisheries Management – Pacific Halibut

Current understanding

To be populated as evidence accumulates.

Evidence log

• 2026-10-21 — Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Modify Groundfish Season Timing in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska Groundfish Fisheries: cross-connection with fisheries-management-gulf-of-alaska: Proposed rule would synchronize Alaska sablefish groundfish season hours with the Pacific halibut season to reduce discards on joint-target trips. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-09-22 — Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan; Amendment 38; 2027-28 Biennial Specifications and Management Measures: Proposed 2027-28 Pacific Coast Groundfish biennial specifications would change some area closures that also apply to Pacific halibut, linking groundfish management measures to halibut access. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-08-28 — Pacific Halibut Fisheries of the West Coast; Inseason Action for the 2026 Area 2A Pacific Halibut Directed Commercial Fishery: 2026 inseason action opens the Area 2A directed commercial fishery for three additional days (Sept 1–3, 2026) with a 5,000-lb per-vessel limit to help the West Coast fleet attain its 2026 quota. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-09-03 — Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Catch Sharing Plan; Modify Pacific Halibut Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Vessel Use Caps in IFQ Regulatory Areas 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, and 4E: NMFS proposed rule (Nov 2025) would raise the vessel use cap to 5% of the combined annual commercial catch limit across IFQ Areas 4A–4E and exclude community-held Area 4B quota from that cap, aimed at giving western Alaska fishermen more operational flexibility. (novelty: 2)

Open questions

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