On December 11th, 2004, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council re-addressed subsistence halibut regulations. The number of fish in possession, use of charter boats, and the trade or exchange of fish for money regulations have been revised and tightened.
These changes are expected to come into affect by January 2006. They are amendments to the laws that were established in May, 2003.
In Southeast Alaska, the council changed the law to where you can only harvest 20 fish per day. The charter vessel law now states that these vessels are defined by the State by being registered as such. Meaning that if they are registered as a charter vessel with the State, then they are considered a charter vessel and can only be operated by the owner or the owner’s immediate family. Clients are not allowed to be on-board while participating in subsistence halibut activities.
The NPFMC just met in Anchorage this week and one of their major topics was halibut bycatch issues.
Here is a link with some updated information.
https://www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc/PDFdocuments/halibut/HalibutBycWkshop0412.pdf