11 January 2023

SEATTLE – The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) is seeking to charter a longline vessel to conduct a brief (2 preparation days and 5 fishing days) pilot experiment investigating devices intended to reduce marine mammal depredation of catch from longline gear. The purpose of the charter is to (1) investigate the logistics of setting, fishing, and hauling two pilot catch protection devices: a) an underwater shuttle and b) branchline gear with a sliding shroud system, and (2) investigate the basic performance of the gear on catch rates and fish size compared to traditional gear. This project will help refine potential devices that can be used in the Pacific halibut fishery to protect catch on the gear from removal or damage by whales and to potentially interrupt the reward cycle leading to depredation. Pilot fishing will not be conducted in the presence of whales and no fish from this study will be retained after sampling.

The IPHC will consider only those vessels with captains and crews that have recent (within five years) longline fishing experience. The IPHC may require an inspection of the vessel prior to awarding the charter.

Vessels need not be licensed for Pacific halibut fishing in Canada or the USA 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.

Interested vessel owners are invited to submit tenders based upon the 2023 IPHC Catch Protection Pilot Study (CPS) Vessel Tender Specifications. The Tender Specifications and Vessel Tender Forms for this project may be downloaded and accessed directly from the IPHC website: Opportunities | IPHC (click on “IPHC Research Charters”).

The IPHC will not be obligated to accept the tender with the lowest bid or any tender received and will contract according to its best interests. Vessels will be rated using the following criteria:

1) seaworthiness and general condition of the vessel and its equipment,

2) the vessel’s availability within the schedule determined solely by the IPHC Secretariat,

3) the vessel captain’s experience and fishing record,

4) the qualifications of the selected crew,

5) IPHC operating costs (tender amounts)

6) Previous interactions with the IPHC and its Secretariat, experience operating as a charter vessel, scheduling flexibility, and ability to take additional Secretariat staff are other factors to be potentially considered in the decision-making process.

Submissions must be completed  no later than 16:59 (Pacific) on 15 February 2023.

For further information please contact the IPHC Secretariat at  Secretariat@iphc.int or 206.634.1838.

IPHC Secretariat
International Pacific Halibut Commission
2320 W. Commodore Way, Suite 300
Seattle, WA 98199-1287
206-634-1838 | www.iphc.int

5 January 2023

SEATTLE – Commercial and recreational charter vessels retaining Pacific halibut in International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) Regulatory Area 2A were previously licensed by the IPHC. The NOAA Fisheries final rule (87 FR 74322) implementing the management transition in the IPHC Regulatory Area 2A to the NOAA Fisheries was published on 5 December 2022 and became effective on 4 January 2023.

NEW APPLICATION DEADLINES:

• more than two months earlier than the previous IPHC deadline for the directed commercial fishery licence applications (as of 2023, 15 February),
• two weeks earlier than previously required by the IPHC for the incidental salmon and sablefish fisheries (as of 2023, 1 March).
• Charter vessels retaining Pacific halibut must obtain a permit 15 days prior to the start of fishing.

OTHER NOTABLE CHANGES: NOAA Fisheries is also requiring application information in addition to what the IPHC required; specifically, those applying for directed commercial fishery permits must provide vessel length documentation.

Online permit application forms are now available through the NOAA Fisheries West Coast region web page at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/pacific-halibut-permits.

More information about the 2A management transition can be found in the attached document.

The IPHC urges participants to the IPHC Regulatory Area 2A Pacific halibut commercial and charter fisheries to familiarize themselves with new permit requirements by NOAA Fisheries.

IPHC Secretariat
International Pacific Halibut Commission
2320 W. Commodore Way, Suite 300
Seattle, WA 98199-1287
206-634-1838 | www.iphc.int

05 January 2023

SEATTLE – Eligible Pacific halibut processors are invited to register and provide accreditation details for the upcoming 28^th Session of the IPHC Processor Advisory Board (PAB028).

All IPHC meetings are open to observers and the general public, but please be reminded that in order for you to attend the upcoming meeting as a Member, you must first complete the online accreditation form for the meeting even if you have attended as a Member in the past.

Step 1: Online accreditation form

Then, please register for the meeting so we know how many people the meeting room will need to accommodate.

Step 2: Meeting registration

All meeting documents will be published as they are available to the PAB028 meeting page linked here

IPHC Secretariat
International Pacific Halibut Commission
2320 W. Commodore Way, Suite 300
Seattle, WA 98199-1287
206-634-1838 | www.iphc.int

20 December 2022

SEATTLE – The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) is seeking to charter longline vessels to conduct its Fishery-Independent Setline Survey (FISS) in 2023. The primary purpose of the FISS is to collect standardised data for use in the Pacific halibut stock assessment. This information collected is also 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 and Pacific halibut less than 32 inches in length that have been sampled, as well as incidentally caught fish (byproduct) that will die upon release will be retained, sampled for biological data and sold by the IPHC to offset FISS expenses.

The 2023 FISS will cover 21 charter regions within the IPHC Convention Area with a standard grid of stations from Oregon to the northern Bering Sea, including the Aleutian Islands. The FISS must be completed between 26 May and 15 September 2023.

The IPHC will consider only those vessels with captains and crews that have recent (within five years) Pacific halibut fishing experience. The IPHC may require an inspection of the vessel prior to awarding the charter.

Vessels need not be licensed for Pacific halibut fishing in Canada or the USA 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.

Interested vessel owners are invited to submit tenders based upon the 2023 IPHC Fishery-Independent Setline Survey (FISS) Vessel Tender Specifications. The Tender Specifications and Vessel Tender Forms for this project may be downloaded and accessed directly from the IPHC website: Vessel Recruiting | IPHC.

The IPHC will not be obligated to accept the tender with the lowest bid or any tender received and will contract according to its best interests.

Vessels will be rated using the following criteria:

1) seaworthiness and general condition of the vessel and its equipment,
2) the vessel’s availability within the schedule determined solely by the IPHC Secretariat,
3) the vessel captain’s experience and fishing record,
4) the qualifications of the selected crew,
5) IPHC operating costs (tender amounts)
6) Previous interactions with the IPHC and its Secretariat, experience with the IPHC FISS, scheduling flexibility, and ability to take additional Secretariat are other factors to be potentially considered in the decision-making process.

Both fixed gear and snap gear vessels are welcome to bid on all IPHC Charter Regions.

All IPHC Secretariat personnel are required to be vaccinated – proof is available to vessel captains upon request.

Submissions must be completed no later than 23:59 (Pacific) on 3 February 2023.

For further information please contact the IPHC Secretariat at secretariat@iphc.int or 206.634.1838.

IPHC Secretariat
International Pacific Halibut Commission
2320 W. Commodore Way, Suite 300
Seattle, WA 98199-1287
206-634-1838 | www.iphc.int

24 October 0222

SEATTLE – The 99^th Session of the IPHC Annual Meeting (AM099) and associated subsidiary body meetings will be held at the Fairmont Empress, Victoria, B.C., Canada from 23-27 January 2023.

We will also be supporting remote participation to all meetings via our current web platform.

The Commission requests that all interested participants register for the meetings via the following pages:

• 99^th Session of the IPHC Annual Meeting (AM099) (23-27 January 2023) Commencing at 12:30 pm (PST) on the 23^rd.
• 93^rd Session of the IPHC Conference Board (CB093) (24-25 January 2023) Commencing at 1:30 pm (PST) on the 24^th.
• 28^th Session of the IPHC Processor Advisory Board (PAB028) (24-25 January 2023) Commencing at 1:30 pm (PST) on the 24^th.

Also contained on each meeting page is a link to access the Hotel booking portal, where you’ll be able to directly access the prearrange booking rates.

For further information please contact the IPHC Secretariat at secretariat@iphc.int or 206.634.1838.

IPHC Secretariat
International Pacific Halibut Commission
2320 W. Commodore Way, Suite 300
Seattle, WA 98199-1287
206-634-1838 | www.iphc.int