1998 Halibut Landing Report No. 3

All-Depth Oregon Sport Halibut Seasons Closed; Restricted Fishery Opens

The 1998 Central Oregon all-depth sport halibut fishery for May (between Cape Falcon [latitude 45° 46’00" N] and the Florence North Jetty [Siuslaw River, latitude 44° 01’08" N]) and the Southern Oregon all-depth sport fishery for May (between the Florence North Jetty and the California-Oregon border [latitude 42° 00’00" N]) closed as scheduled on May 23, 1998. The sport fishery from Cape Falcon to the California border reopened seven days a week on May 24, only in the area inside the 30-fathom curve nearest to the coastline as plotted on National Ocean Service charts numbered 18520, 18580, and 18600. The Central Oregon area will remain open in waters shallower than 30 fathoms through August 6 or until 10,455 pounds are estimated to have been taken, whichever comes first. The Southern Oregon area will remain open in waters shallower than 30 fathoms through August 6 or until 3,054 pounds are estimated to have been taken, whichever comes first. The daily bag limit remains two halibut per person, one with a minimum overall size limit of 32 inches and the second with a minimum overall size limit of 50 inches.

The preliminary harvest estimate for the Central Oregon all-depth fishery is 79,996 pounds of the 101,566 pound allocation. The remaining 21,570 pounds will be added to the August all-depth fishery. The preliminary harvest for the Southern Oregon all-depth fishery is 8,773 pounds of the 9,462 allocation. Insufficient poundage remained for another day of all-depth fishing, so the all depth fishery will not open June 12, 13, 19, or 20. The remaining 689 pounds were added into the fishery inside the 30-fathom curve.

The all-depth sport fishery from Cape Falcon to the California Border will reopen on August 7. Additional fishing days will be announced on July 10 (dial 1-800-662-9825) if needed to reach the combined Southern and Central Oregon subarea allocation of 161,188 pounds.

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