7 July 2022

SEATTLE – The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) has re-established the fishing period limits for all licensed vessels for the second (12 to 14 July 2022) fishing period for the non-treaty directed commercial fishery (the fishery) in IPHC Regulatory Area 2A. The overall annual allocation for this fishery in IPHC Regulatory Area 2A for 2022 is 114.64 metric tons (252,730 pounds).

2022 Fishery statistics:

• The 2022 total allocation for this fishery is 114.64 metric tonnes (252,730 pounds).
• An estimated total of 32 tonnes (71,000 pounds) were landed during the first (28 to 30 June 2022) fishing period.
• An estimated total of 82 tonnes (181,000 pounds) remain to be caught.

The IPHC has determined that a second fishing period will be held on 12 to 14 July 2022 with fishing period limits by vessel class listed below. The second fishing period will begin at 0800 on 12 July 2022 and end at 1800 on 14 July 2022 local time. The fishery is restricted to waters south of Point Chehalis, Washington (46°53.30’ N. latitude). The following fishing period limits will be in effect for this fishing period by vessel class:

The fishing period landing limit applies to the vessel, not the individual fisher, and any landings over the vessel limit will be subject to forfeiture and fine.

The fishing period landing limit above is a dressed, head-on weight, and stakeholders are reminded that regulations require that all Pacific halibut be landed with the head naturally attached. Additionally, stakeholders are reminded that there is a 72-hour rule, whereby a vessel that will be used in this fishery may not be used to fish for any species of fish anywhere in IPHC Regulatory Area 2A during the 72-hour period immediately prior to this fishing period unless all retained catch of other species has been completely offloaded or the vessel has submitted to a hold inspection by an authorized officer prior to the start of the fishing period (see International Pacific Halibut Commission Fishery Regulations 2022, sections 18(7) and 18(8)).

NOAA Fisheries has implemented mandatory area closures that are in effect for the directed Pacific halibut fishery to protect specific rockfish species. For the exact coordinates of the closed areas, please refer to their webpage:

http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/fisheries/management/groundfish_closures/groundfish_closed_areas.html. For further information, call the NOAA Fisheries hotline at 1 800-662-9825, then press “7” for the Pacific halibut fisheries.

Following this 2022 fishing period (12 to 14 July), the IPHC may establish and announce fishing period landing limits for subsequent fishing periods in 2022, dependent upon allocation remaining for the fishery.

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

27 June 2022

SEATTLE – The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) is seeking to charter longline vessels to conduct its Fishery-Independent Setline Survey (FISS) in 2022 in the following FISS Charter Regions only:

• Gore Point (35 stations)
• Portlock (40 stations)
• Semidi (27 stations)

In addition, we are seeking standby bids for the following three (3) additional charter regions:

• Shelikof (45 stations)
• Chignik (35 stations)
• Shumagin (26 stations)

The primary purpose of the FISS is to collect standardised data for use in the Pacific halibut stock assessment. This information 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.

Submissions must be completed no later than 23:59 (Pacific) on 11 July 2022.         

The entire 2022 FISS will cover 28 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 27 May and 31 August 2022.

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 2022 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.

***Preference may also be given to tenders that provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination***

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 11 July 2022.

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

16 May 2022

SEATTLE – The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) has established the fishing period limits for all licensed vessels for the first (28 to 30 June 2022) fishing period for the non-tribal directed commercial fishery (the fishery) in IPHC Regulatory Area 2A. The overall annual allocation for this fishery for 2022 is 114.64 metric tons (252,730 pounds).

The first fishing period will begin at 08:00 on 28 June and end at 18:00 on 30 June local time. The fishery is restricted to waters south of Point Chehalis, Washington (46°53.30’ N. latitude). A total of 202 fishery licenses have been issued for 2022 with the application deadline date having passed on 30 April 2022. The following fishing period limits will be in effect for this fishing period by vessel class:

Overall Length (in feet)	Vessel Class	Number of licenses issued	Fishing period landing limit
			Dressed, head-on with ice/slime (metric tonnes)		Dressed, head-on with ice/slime (pounds)
1-25	A	9	1.03		2,263
26-30	B	15	1.03		2,263
31-35	C	15	1.03		2,263
36-40	D	36	1.55		3,410
41-45	E	33	1.55		3,410
46-50	F	40	2.06		4,545
51-55	G	18	2.06		4,545
56+	H	36	2.32		5,113

The fishing period limit applies to the vessel, not the individual fisher, and any landings over the vessel limit will be subject to forfeiture and fine.

The fishing period limit above is a dressed, head-on weight, and stakeholders are reminded that regulations require that all Pacific halibut be landed with the head naturally attached. Additionally, stakeholders are reminded that there is a 72-hour rule, whereby a vessel that will be used in this fishery may not be used to fish for any species of fish anywhere in IPHC Regulatory Area 2A during the 72-hour period immediately prior to this fishing period unless all retained catch of other species has been completely offloaded or the vessel has submitted to a hold inspection by an authorized officer prior to the start of the fishing period (see International Pacific Halibut Commission Fishery Regulations 2022, sections 18(7) and 18(8)).

NOAA Fisheries has implemented mandatory area closures that are in effect for the directed Pacific halibut fishery to protect specific rockfish species. For the exact coordinates of the closed areas, please refer to their webpage:

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/sustainable-fisheries/west-coast-groundfish-closed-areas. For further information, call the NOAA Fisheries hotline at 1 800-662-9825, then press “7” for the Pacific halibut fisheries.

Following this 2022 fishing period (28 to 30 June), the IPHC may establish and announce fishing period limits for subsequent fishing periods in 2022, dependent upon allocation remaining for the fishery.

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

5 May 2022

SEATTLE – The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) is chartering longline vessels to conduct its Fishery-Independent Setline Survey (FISS) in 2022. The primary purpose of the FISS is to collect standardised fishery-independent data for use in our 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.

Please note that while IPHC does not plan to complete the remaining stations in Attu (61) and 4CDE North this year (40), we are still actively seeking bids for the following charter areas. For more information, please visit the Vessel Recruiting page. 

IPHC Regulatory Area	IPHC Charter Region	Number of Stations
3A	Gore Point	35
3A	Portlock	40
3B	Semidi	27

2022 IPHC FISS Contract Awards

IPHC Regulatory Area	IPHC Charter Region	Vessel	Lump Sum (USD)	Share of Pacific halibut	Share of non-viable bycatch
2A	Oregon	Pacific Surveyor	$88,745	10%	50%
2A	Washington	Pacific Surveyor	$76,655	10%	50%
2B	Vancouver	Bold Pursuit	$56,000	10%	$2,000 1
2B	Goose Island	Bold Pursuit	$53,000	10%	$2,000 1
2B	St James	Pender Isle	$54,000	10%	0%
2B	Charlotte	Bold Pursuit	$101,000	10%	$3,000 1
2C	Ketchikan	Vanisle	$64,900	10%	50%
2C	Ommaney	Vanisle	$84,900	10%	50%
2C	Sitka	Vanisle	$74,900	10%	50%
3A	Fairweather	Pender Isle	$45,500	10%	50%
3A	Yakutat	Pender Isle	$93,000	10%	50%
3A	Prince William Sound	St Nicholas	$62,000	10%	50%
3A	Gore Point	—	—	10%	50%
3A	Seward	St. Nicholas	$57,500	10%	50%
3A	Portlock	—	—	10%	50%
3A	Albatross	Devotion	$61,250	10%	50%
3A	Shelikof	Norcoaster	$110,000	10%	50%
3B	Trinity	Devotion	$48,6000	10%	50%
3B	Semidi	—	—	10%	50%
3B	Chignik	Norcoaster	$105,000	10%	50%
3B	Shumagin	Norcoaster	$65,000	10%	50%
3B	Sanak	Star Wars II	$135,000	10%	50%
4A	Unalaska	Star Wars II	$200,000	10%	50%
4B	Adak	Kema Sue	$114,750	10%	50%
4B	Attu (24 stations)	Kema Sue	$61,200	10%	50%
4B	Attu (61 stations)	—	—	—	—
4CDE	4CDE South	Kema Sue	$139,200	10%	50%
4CDE	4CDE Central	Kema Sue	$92,800	10%	50%
4CDE	4CDE 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