22 April 2020
SEATTLE – The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) is chartering longline vessels to conduct its Fishery-Independent Setline Survey (FISS) in 2020. The primary purpose of the FISS is to collect standardized fishery-independent data for use in the Pacific halibut stock assessment. This information is used to study aspects of the Pacific halibut resource such as growth, distribution, biomass, age composition, sexual maturity, and relative abundance of other species.
Due to the impacts of COVID-19, the IPHC has tentatively agreed to a reduced FISS in 2020. No contracts are being awarded for the IPHC Regulatory Areas 2A, 4A, 4B, and 4CDE/Closed Area. The following charter regions were also removed from IPHC Regulatory Area 2B: Vancouver and IPHC Regulatory Area 3B: Shumagin and Sanak.
Thus, the 2020 FISS is currently planned to cover 17 charter regions within the IPHC Convention Area with a grid of stations from the coast of British Columbia to the Gulf of Alaska. The 2020 IPHC FISS contract awards are listed in the table below. Please note however, that a final decision on whether the 2020 FISS will be feasible given COVID-19 will not be made until late May.
2020 IPHC FISS Contract Awards
| IPHC Regulatory Area | IPHC Charter Region | Vessel | Project | Lump Sum (USD) | Share of O32 Pacific halibut | Share of non-viable bycatch | |
| 2A | Washington | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 2B | Vancouver | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 2B | Goose Island | Bold Pursuit | FISS | $88,000 | 10% | $2,000 1 | |
| 2B | St James (fixed gear) | Vanisle | FISS gear comparison | $96,884 | 10% | 0% | |
| 2B | St James (snap gear) | Hanna-Lio | FISS gear comparison | $47,312 | 10% | $2,500 1 | |
| 2B | Charlotte | Bold Pursuit | FISS | $122,000 | 10% | $7,000 1 | |
| 2C | Ketchikan | Star Wars II | FISS | $66,418 | 10% | 50% | |
| 2C | Ommaney | Star Wars II | FISS | $68,418 | 10% | 50% | |
| 2C | Sitka | Pender Isle | FISS | $75,000 | 10% | 50% | |
| 3A | Fairweather | Pender Isle | FISS | $85,000 | 10% | 50% | |
| 3A | Yakutat | Seymour | FISS | $105,000 | 10% | 50% | |
| 3A | Prince William Sound | Polaris | FISS | $115,000 | 10% | 50% | |
| 3A | Seward | Polaris | FISS | $77,000 | 10% | 50% | |
| 3A | Gore Point | Allstar | FISS | $78,000 | 10% | 50% | |
| 3A | Portlock | Devotion | FISS | $89,250 | 10% | 50% | |
| 3A | Albatross | Kema Sue | FISS | $85,700 | 10% | 50% | |
| 3A | Shelikof | Kema Sue | FISS | $112,000 | 10% | 50% | |
| 3B | Trinity | St. Nicholas | FISS | $39,000 | 10% | 50% | |
| 3B | Semidi | St. Nicholas | FISS | $43,000 | 10% | 50% | |
| 3B | Chignik | Devotion | FISS | $55,000 | 10% | 50% | |
| 3B | Shumagin | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 3B | Sanak | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 4A | Unalaska | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 4B | Adak | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 4CDE/Closed | 4D Edge South | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 4CDE/Closed | 4D Edge Central | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 4CDE/Closed | 4D Edge North | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Note: 1 Bycatch processing lump sum payments | |||||||
IPHC Secretariat
International Pacific Halibut Commission
2320 W. Commodore Way, Suite 300
Seattle, WA 98199-1287
206-634-1838 | www.iphc.int
