13 September 2018                 

IPHC NEWS RELEASE 2018-022

PACIFIC HALIBUT LANDING REPORT: 2018

The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) is pleased to announce the launch of our new Pacific Halibut Landing Report on the IPHC website:

https://www.iphc.int/data/landings

Previously we communicated landing updates via periodic news releases. However, due to stakeholder feedback that these updates were either not frequent enough or were not reaching all interested stakeholders, we have decided to take an improved approach.

The new Pacific halibut landings report will be updated twice monthly to provide users with an improved ability to track landings by sector and IPHC Regulatory Area throughout the year. Over the coming months we intend to further refine the webpage to facilitate interactive elements that will allow users to drill down into IPHC Regulatory Areas and sectors throughout the season.

The new page may be accessed via the “Landing Report: 2018” link found in the yellow “Quick Links” box on each page of the IPHC website. It will be updated on the first and the fifteenth of every month or the first workday thereafter.

ONGOING SUBSCRIPTION TO IPHC NEWS RELEASES

Dear Reader: The IPHC is moving towards fully electronic information distribution. As such, if you would like to continue to receive IPHC news in the future, please click the following link to subscribe: https://www.iphc.int/form/news-letter. Hard copies of news releases and similar bulletins will cease in the coming months.  

– END –

David T. Wilson, Ph.D.
Executive Director, IPHC
Phone: (206) 634-1838
Fax:     (206) 632-2983
Web:  www.iphc.int

19 September 2018                  

IPHC NEWS RELEASE 2018-23

IPHC REGULATORY AREA 2A PACIFIC HALIBUT RECREATIONAL FISHERY: CALIFORNIA CLOSURE

The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) reports that the total catch limit for the IPHC Regulatory Area 2A Pacific halibut recreational fishery for California has been reached. Therefore, the IPHC Regulatory Area 2A Pacific halibut recreational fishery in California will close at the end of the day (23:59 PDT) Friday, 21 September 2018 for the remainder of 2018.

For more information, please visit the California Department of Fish and Wildlife website at

https://cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2018/09/17/recreational-pacific-halibut-fishery-ends-friday-sept-21/ .

Due to the short notice nature of this notification, it is posted to our website only, and no paper copy has been mailed out.

ONGOING SUBSCRIPTION TO IPHC NEWS RELEASES

Dear Reader: The IPHC is moving towards fully electronic information distribution. As such, if you would like to continue to receive IPHC news in the future, please click the following link to subscribe: https://www.iphc.int/form/news-letter. Hard copies of news releases and similar bulletins will cease in the coming months.  

– END –

David T. Wilson, Ph.D.
Executive Director, IPHC
Phone: (206) 634-1838
Fax:     (206) 632-2983
Web:  www.iphc.int

01 October 2018                       

IPHC NEWS RELEASE 2018-024

PACIFIC HALIBUT LANDING REPORT: 2018

The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) is pleased to announce the scheduled update of our new Pacific Halibut Landing Report on the IPHC website:

https://www.iphc.int/data/landings

We previously communicated landing updates via periodic news releases. However, due to stakeholder feedback that these updates were either not frequent enough or were not reaching all interested stakeholders, we have decided to take an improved approach.

The new Pacific halibut landings report will be updated twice monthly (first and the fifteenth of every month or the first workday thereafter) to provide users with an improved ability to track landings by sector and IPHC Regulatory Area throughout the year. Over the coming months we intend to further refine the webpage to facilitate interactive elements that will allow users to drill down into IPHC Regulatory Areas and sectors throughout the season. The update for this release was the addition of a percentage column indicating the amount of the applicable fishery limit that has been landed.

The new page may also be accessed via the “Landing Report: 2018” link found in the yellow “Quick Links” box on each page of the IPHC website.

ONGOING SUBSCRIPTION TO IPHC NEWS RELEASES

Dear Reader: The IPHC is moving towards fully electronic information distribution. As such, if you would like to continue to receive IPHC news in the future, please click the following link to subscribe: https://www.iphc.int/form/news-letter. Hard copies of news releases and similar bulletins will cease in the coming months.  

– END –

David T. Wilson, Ph.D.
Executive Director, IPHC
Phone: (206) 634-1838
Fax:     (206) 632-2983
Web:  www.iphc.int

11 October 2018   

94^TH SESSION OF THE IPHC INTERIM MEETING:

AGENDA, SCHEDULE AND DEADLINES

The 94^th Session of the IPHC Interim Meeting (IM094) will be held 27-28 November 2018 at the Grand Hyatt Seattle, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. Other information concerning the meeting, including electronic versions of documents to be considered, will be published on the IPHC website as they become available, but no later than 30 days prior to the commencement of the Session (28 October 2018).

IM094 meeting page: https://www.iphc.int/venues/details/94th-session-of-the-iphc-interim-meeting-im094

Meeting attendance: There are two ways of attending the meeting, either ‘In-Person’ or by listening to the meeting being broadcast live via our ‘Webinar.’ Please register for either method from the meeting page link provided above.

The IPHC has reserved a block of rooms at the Grand Hyatt Seattle (721 Pine Street, Seattle, WA 98101) at the daily rate of US$139. The link to the hotel reservation site is located on the event registration page (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2018-iphc-interim-meeting-im094-registration-50913472567). The group rate is available until 6 November 2018.

CALL FOR IPHC REGULATORY PROPOSALS FOR THE 2018-19 PROCESS

The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) previously published the following dates and information for use when developing and submitting proposals for new, or amending existing, IPHC Pacific Halibut Fishery Regulations for the 2018-19 process.

IPHC INTERIM MEETING: The Regulatory Proposal deadline for IM094 is 28 October 2018.

IPHC ANNUAL MEETING: The Regulatory Proposal deadline for AM095 is 29 December 2018.

Please note that the IPHC Fishery Regulations portal is now available for use from the IPHC website. The portal details the submission process and timelines for submission.

Fishery Regulations: https://www.iphc.int/the-commission/fishery-regulations/

Please note that all proposals for new or revised IPHC Fishery Regulations must be submitted electronically through this portal. The online form is linked below:

Regulatory Proposal submission form: https://www.iphc.int/form/regulatory-proposal

Although it is not mandatory to submit draft Regulatory Proposals for consideration at the IPHC’s Interim Meeting, it is highly encouraged as it will provide the Commissioners and IPHC Secretariat additional time to seek clarification as necessary.

Proposals or any other documents received after the deadline of 28 October 2018 will be considered for information only (Information papers) and not discussed at the meeting.

ONGOING SUBSCRIPTION TO IPHC NEWS RELEASES

Dear Reader: The IPHC is moving towards fully electronic information distribution. As such, if you would like to continue to receive IPHC news in the future, please click the following link to subscribe to electronic communications: https://www.iphc.int/form/news-letter. Hard copies of news releases and other bulletins will cease early in 2019.  

– END –

David T. Wilson, Ph.D.
Executive Director, IPHC
Phone: (206) 634-1838
Fax:     (206) 632-2983
Web:  www.iphc.int

15 October 2018                       

IPHC NEWS RELEASE 2018-026

PACIFIC HALIBUT LANDING REPORT: 2018

The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) is pleased to announce the scheduled update of our new Pacific Halibut Landing Report on the IPHC website, 15 October 2018:

https://www.iphc.int/data/landings

We previously communicated landing updates via periodic news releases. However, due to stakeholder feedback that these updates were either not frequent enough or were not reaching all interested stakeholders, we have decided to take an improved approach.

The new Pacific halibut landings report will be updated twice monthly (1^st and the 15^th of every month or the first workday thereafter) to provide users with an improved ability to track landings by sector and IPHC Regulatory Area throughout the year. Over the coming months we intend to further refine the webpage to facilitate interactive elements that will allow users to drill down into IPHC Regulatory Areas and sectors throughout the season. The update for this release was the addition of a percentage column indicating the amount of the applicable fishery limit that has been landed.

The new page may also be accessed via the “Landing Report: 2018” link found in the yellow “Quick Links” box on each page of the IPHC website.

Due to the short notice nature of this notification, it is posted to our website only, and no paper copy has been mailed out.

ONGOING SUBSCRIPTION TO IPHC NEWS RELEASES

Dear Reader: The IPHC is moving towards fully electronic information distribution. As such, if you would like to continue to receive IPHC news in the future, please click the following link to subscribe to electronic communications: https://www.iphc.int/form/news-letter. Hard copies of news releases and other bulletins will cease early in 2019.  

– END –

David T. Wilson, Ph.D.
Executive Director, IPHC
Phone: (206) 634-1838
Fax:     (206) 632-2983
Web:  www.iphc.int

26 October 2018

NEW DATA RELEASE: FISHERY-INDEPENDENT SETLINE SURVEY INTERACTIVE DATA (2018)

The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) is pleased to announce the scheduled data release of the interactive raw data from our most recent Fishery-Independent Setline Survey (FISS):

https://www.iphc.int/data/setline-survey-catch-per-unit-effort

We previously communicated fishery-independent setline survey results via meeting documents and presentations at the commencement on the first day of our Interim Meeting (late November). However, due to stakeholder feedback and in an attempt to provide more timely updates, we have decided to take an improved and advanced approach.

The 2018 Fishery-Independent Setline Survey raw data results are now available on our interactive data webpage, provided at the link above. The available views allow users to interactively review the raw results from the Fishery-Independent Setline Surveys for 2018 and prior years with an ability to drill down and track differences among areas and across years.

The updated page may also be accessed via the “Data” link found at the top of each page of the IPHC website.

ONGOING SUBSCRIPTION TO IPHC NEWS RELEASES

Dear Reader: The IPHC is moving towards fully electronic information distribution. As such, if you would like to continue to receive IPHC news in the future, please click the following link to subscribe to electronic communications: https://www.iphc.int/form/news-letter. Hard copies of news releases and other bulletins will cease early in 2019.

– END –

David T. Wilson, Ph.D.
Executive Director, IPHC
Phone: (206) 634-1838
Fax:     (206) 632-2983
Web:  www.iphc.int

1 November 2018                     

IPHC NEWS RELEASE 2018-028

PACIFIC HALIBUT LANDING REPORT: 2018

The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) is pleased to announce the scheduled update of our new Pacific Halibut Landing Report on the IPHC website, 1 November 2018:

https://www.iphc.int/data/landings

We previously communicated landing updates via periodic news releases. However, due to stakeholder feedback that these updates were either not frequent enough or were not reaching all interested stakeholders, we have decided to take an improved approach.

The new Pacific halibut landings report are updated twice monthly (1^st and the 15^th of every month or the first workday thereafter) to provide users with an improved ability to track landings by sector and IPHC Regulatory Area throughout the year. Over the coming months we intend to further refine the landings webpage to facilitate interactive elements that will allow users to drill down into IPHC Regulatory Areas and sectors throughout the season. An additional update for this news release was the addition of ‘removal values’ for the recreational fisheries, recently received.

The new page may also be accessed via the “Landing Report: 2018” link found in the yellow “Quick Links” box on each page of the IPHC website.

Due to the short notice nature of this notification, it is posted to our website only, and no paper copy has been mailed out.

ONGOING SUBSCRIPTION TO IPHC NEWS RELEASES

Dear Reader: The IPHC is moving towards fully electronic information distribution. As such, if you would like to continue to receive IPHC news in the future, please click the following link to subscribe to electronic communications: https://www.iphc.int/form/news-letter. Hard copies of news releases and other bulletins will cease early in 2019.  

– END –

David T. Wilson, Ph.D.
Executive Director, IPHC
Phone: (206) 634-1838
Fax:     (206) 632-2983
Web:  www.iphc.int

7 November 2018

IPHC NEWS RELEASE 2018-029

2018 FISHING PERIODS – TERMINATION

The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) would like to remind all commercial fishery participants that in accordance with Article 9 of the IPHC Fishery Regulations 2018, all remaining commercial fisheries for Pacific halibut in the IPHC Convention Area shall terminate at 1200 hrs local time today, 7 November 2018.

Total Pacific halibut removals for all fisheries in 2018 are available on our website at Landing Report: 2018 and in the 94^th Session of the IPHC Interim Meeting document – Fisheries Statistics (2018): DRAFT.

Due to the short notice nature of this notification, it is posted to our website only, and no paper copy has or will be been mailed out.

ONGOING SUBSCRIPTION TO IPHC NEWS RELEASES

Dear Reader: The IPHC is moving towards fully electronic information distribution. As such, if you would like to continue to receive IPHC news in the future, please click the following link to subscribe to electronic communications: https://www.iphc.int/form/news-letter. Hard copies of news releases and other bulletins will cease early in 2019.  

– END –

David T. Wilson, Ph.D.
Executive Director, IPHC
Phone: (206) 634-1838
Fax:     (206) 632-2983
Web:  www.iphc.int

16 February 2018

International Pacific Halibut Commission Requests Charter Bids for the 2018 Fishery-Independent Setline Survey

The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) is seeking to charter longline vessels to conduct its fisheries-independent setline survey (setline survey) in 2018. The purpose of the setline survey is to collect standardized 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. Legal-sized Pacific halibut from all skates and some bycatch will be retained, sampled for biological data, and sold by the IPHC to offset setline survey expenses.

The 2018 setline survey will cover 30 regions within the IPHC Convention Area with a standard grid of stations from Oregon to the northern Bering Sea, including the Aleutian Islands. The 2018 setline survey will also include an expanded number of stations in IPHC Regulatory Areas 2A, 2B, and 2C to gather additional data from these areas. All regions are open for single-year bids.

Vessels will fish 7 skates of gear at each setline survey station in most regions (except 8 skates in IPHC Regulatory Areas 2A and part of 4CDE) following standard setline survey protocol. A maximum of 4 stations will be permitted per day. Most regions require 12-22 fishing days plus additional days for running, loading and offloading gear and fish, foul weather days, etc. Depending on the region, total charter duration for each region can be expected to be 20-36 days. Vessels are encouraged to bid for multiple areas, and may be awarded up to a maximum of four regions. Setline survey fishing must be completed between 28 May and 31 August 2018.

Vessels need not be licensed for Pacific halibut fishing in Canada or the U.S.A. to be eligible. The IPHC is not restricted as to nationality of the vessels it charters for operation in any region as long as customs and immigration regulations are followed.

The IPHC will consider only those vessels with captains and crews that have recent (within 5 years) Pacific halibut fishing experience. Most areas require vessels that have adequate deck space and suitable accommodations for two to three male or female IPHC employees. Vessels must supply conventional fixed-hook setline gear conforming to IPHC standards (see Charter Specifications) as well as all associated equipment normally required for commercial halibut fishing.

The IPHC may require an inspection of the vessel prior to awarding the charter. Bids will be evaluated based on (1) the Pacific halibut fishing experience of captain and crew, (2) the characteristics and safety features of the vessel, (3) the vessel’s availability, and (4) the IPHC operating costs. The lowest or any bid will not necessarily be accepted, and the IPHC will contract according to its own interests.

Interested vessel owners are invited to submit bids based upon standard IPHC contract structure as described in the IPHC Request for Proposal specifications. Charter Specifications and Vessel Tender Forms for this project may be downloaded directly from the IPHC web site at https://www.iphc.int/the-commission/opportunities or requested from the IPHC Secretariat office. Bids must be received at the IPHC office in Seattle by 12:00 noon (Pacific Time) on Monday, 12 March 2018.

For further information please contact Tracee Geernaert (ext. 7665), or Eric Soderlund (ext. 7678) at (206) 634-1838.

– END –

David T. Wilson, Ph.D.
Executive Director, IPHC
Phone: (206) 634-1838
Fax: (206) 632-2983
Web: www.iphc.int

6 March 2018

INTERNATIONAL PACIFIC HALIBUT COMMISSION SOLICITS APPLICATIONS FOR THE IPHC MERIT SCHOLARSHIP

The International Pacific Halibut Commission funds several Merit Scholarships to support university, technical college, and other post-secondary education. The scholarship fund has been established to assist the further education of Canadian and U.S. students connected to the Pacific halibut fishery and its industry. Generally, a single new scholarship valued at US$4000 per year is awarded every two years. The scholarships are renewable annually for the normal four-year period of undergraduate education, subject to maintenance of satisfactory academic performance. A committee of industry and Commission representatives reviews applications and determines recipients based on academic qualifications, career goals, and relationship to the Pacific halibut industry.

The scholarship for 2018 will be available for educational entrance or continuation in fall of 2018. Additional questions can be directed to Kelly Chapman (206) 634-1838 ext. 7661; secretariat@iphc.int.

Applications are available through the Commission offices or on the Commission’s website at: Applications must be received by 30 June 2018 and emailed to: secretariat@iphc.int

– END –

David T. Wilson, Ph.D.
Executive Director, IPHC
Phone: (206) 634-1838
Fax: (206) 632-2983
Web: www.iphc.int