The July 25 non-treaty commercial fishing period in Area 2A resulted in a catch of about 50,600 pounds, leaving 20,326 pounds in the directed commercial catch limit.

Area 2A will reopen on August 8 for 10 hours from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. local time. The fishery is restricted to waters that are south of Point Chehalis, Washington (46^o53’18"N. latitude) under regulations promulgated by National Marine Fisheries Service. Fishing period limits as indicated in the following table will be in effect for this opening.

*Weights are after 2% has been deducted for ice and slime if fish are not washed prior to weighing.

The appropriate vessel length class and letter are printed on each halibut license.

The fishing period limit is shown in terms of dressed, head-off weight as well as dressed, head-on weight, although fishermen are reminded that regulations require that all halibut from Area 2A be landed with the head on.

The IPHC is conducting a double tagging project in Prince William Sound and Resurrection Bay during the first week of August. We will be releasing up to 300 halibut with neon GREEN plastic coated wire tags. Each tag will be attached to the dark side cheek, as in the diagram below. These green tagged fish will also have been tagged behind the eye with a 1 cm Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag. The PIT tag consists of a small glass electromagnetic coil and microchip that, when activated by a scanner, will emit a unique tag number. The PIT tags are being considered for a coast wide halibut tagging project to be conducted in 2002.

When you catch a tagged halibut:

1. Record tag number, date, location, and depth
2. Retain the head of these GREEN tagged halibut and contact the IPHC office at (206) 634-1838.

The IPHC also awards $5 or a baseball cap for the return of other types of IPHC wire tags and sport dart tags.