The announcement was made at the International Pacific Halibut Commission's annual meeting last week in Anchorage. Alaska always gets the lion's share of the catch, which this year will be 25.5 million pounds.
Driving the decreases: Pacific halibut stocks continue a decade-long decline, fish are smaller than they should be at age, and, most troubling, scientists believe they have overestimated the halibut biomass for years.
Most stakeholders accepted the catch limits, but the overall mood was concern for the health of the resource, said Kathy Hansen, executive director of the Southeast Alaska Fishermen's Alliance.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Anchorage Daily News
