31 January 2022
SEATTLE – The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) completed its 98th Annual Meeting (AM098) electronically on 28 January 2022 with decisions on total mortality limits, fishing period dates, and other fishery regulation changes. A total of 172 individual Pacific halibut stakeholders attended the meeting via the electronic platform, in addition to the delegations from Canada (12) and the United States of America (15).
The Commission adopted the distributed mortality (TCEY) limits for each IPHC Regulatory Area as shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Distributed mortality (TCEY) limits (net weight[1]) by IPHC Regulatory Area.
| Contracting Party: IPHC Regulatory Area | Mortality limit (TCEY) (mlbs) | Mortality limit (TCEY) (metric tonnes) |
|---|---|---|
| Canada Total: 2B | 7.56 | 3,429 |
| USA: 2A | 1.65 | 748 |
| USA: 2C | 5.91 | 2,681 |
| USA: 3A | 14.55 | 6,600 |
| USA: 3B | 3.90 | 1,769 |
| USA: 4A | 2.10 | 953 |
| USA: 4B | 1.45 | 658 |
| USA: 4CDE | 4.10 | 1,860 |
| USA: Total | 33.66 | 15,268 |
| Total (IPHC Convention Area) | 41.22 | 18,697 |
[1] “net weight” of a Pacific halibut means the weight of Pacific halibut that is without gills and entrails, head-off, washed (without ice and slime). If a Pacific halibut is weighed with the head on or with ice and slime, the required conversion factors for calculating net weight are a 2 percent deduction for ice and slime and a 10 percent deduction for the head.
The IPHC recommended an overall fishing period (season) of 06 March – 07 December 2022 for all directed commercial Pacific halibut fisheries in Canada and the USA. In IPHC Regulatory Area 2A, the tribal and non-tribal commercial fisheries will occur within these dates.
In accordance with the IPHC Convention, the fishery regulations approved by the IPHC, including mortality limits, and fishing periods, will be recommended to the Contracting Parties for implementation according to their domestic laws and regulations.
Meeting information, documents, presentations, and audio recordings, are available on the meeting page at the IPHC website: 98th Session of the IPHC Annual Meeting (AM098) | IPHC. The final report of the meeting will be published in due course.
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
