Recreational Halibut Fishery Statistics For Southcentral Alaska Area 3a 2000 2002

Author : James A. Fall
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 128 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (114 download)

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Download or read book Subsistence Harvests of Pacific Halibut in Alaska, 2018 written by James A. Fall and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report describes the results of a project to estimate the subsistence harvest of Pacific halibut Hippoglossus stenolepis in Alaska in 2018. The National Marine Fisheries Service adopted rules governing subsistence halibut fishing in 2003. Data were collected through a voluntary survey mailed to all holders of Subsistence Halibut Registration Certificates (SHARCs), supplemented by interviews in four communities. The survey response rate was 68% (5,852 surveyed of 8,576 potential halibut fishers). An estimated 4,094 individuals participated in the subsistence fishery for halibut in 2018, down 7% from 4,408 in 2016. The estimated harvest in 2018 was 29,963 halibut, comprising 615,789 lb (net weight; ±3.1%). This was the lowest harvest estimate since the new regulations were adopted in 2003 and, as expressed in pounds net weight, 33% below the previous 12-year average. Of the total subsistence halibut harvested in 2018, 78% were harvested with setline gear and 22% with hand-operated gear. As in all previous study years, the largest portion of the Alaska subsistence halibut harvest in 2018 occurred in Regulatory Area 2C (Southeast Alaska), 59%, followed by Area 3A (Southcentral Alaska), 30%. Subsistence harvests represented about 2.1% of the total halibut removals in Alaska in 2018. In response to a new survey question, 53% of respondents said they had met their needs for halibut in 2018, and 47% said they had not. However, just 38% of tribal SHARC holders reported meeting their needs for halibut, compared to 57% of rural SHARC holders. Among all respondents, lack of effort, inoperative equipment, and time constraints were the most-cited reasons for not meeting needs. Many respondents who reported lack of effort did not offer further explanations to link to personal circumstances, resource status, competition, or equipment issues, among other possibilities. The harvest estimates based on the surveys for 2003-2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 serve as a basis for understanding the overall harvest, annual variability in catch, and trends in harvests since implementation of the 2003 regulations. Due to budget constraints, surveys to estimate subsistence halibut harvests in Alaska in 2013, 2015, and 2017 did not take place and a survey will not occur for 2019. The report recommends that monitoring of the subsistence harvest of halibut in Alaska be resumed in the future. The report also recommends that additional research take place to better understand trends in the subsistence halibut fishery, including reasons for lack of fishing effort among many SHARC holders, declining numbers of SHARCs issued, and lower subsistence harvests.