September 17, 2002

It is estimated that the following catches and numbers of landings were made in the British Columbia IVQ fishery and in the Alaskan IFQ and CDQ fisheries through September 16, 2002.

The Alaskan catch represents 86% of the catch limit. For comparison, from March 15 to September 17, 2001, 48.4 million pounds or 79% of the 2001 catch limit were landed in the Alaskan IFQ/CDQ fisheries. From March 15 to September 17, 2001, 7.8 million pounds or 74% of the 2001 catch limit were landed from Area 2B (British Columbia) compared to 82% in 2002.

The National Marine Fisheries Service announced on September 16 that additional fishing days have been added to the scheduled September 20-21 all-depth opening from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain, Oregon. Permission was granted by the United States Government to open the fishery on Wednesday, September 18 and Thursday, September 19, providing for four consecutive days of fishing.

The recreational Pacific halibut fishery between Cape Falcon and Humbug Mountain remains open inside of the 30-fathom curve seven days a week. This fishery will remain open until the quota is reached or September 30, whichever occurs first.

The daily bag limit is the first fish 32 inches or longer. The possession limit is one fish at sea and two fish on land. An annual limit of six halibut is also in effect for this area.

Executive Director Re-appointed

The International Pacific Halibut Commission is pleased to announce the re-appointment of Dr. Bruce M. Leaman as the Executive Director of the Commission. The Executive Director is responsible for the direction of the Commission’s research, sampling, and assessment programs, as well as the administrative management of Commission operations and staff. Dr. Leaman was first appointed in October 1997 and the re-appointment will extend his tenure through January 2008.