The International Pacific Halibut Commission
(IPHC) is seeking commercial longline vessels to conduct setline
research in British Columbia, central Gulf of Alaska, and Bering
Sea between early January and late February of 2004. Research will
be conducted in four charter regions. One vessel will operate from
either Ketchikan, AK, or Port Hardy or Prince Rupert, BC, and fish
the halibut spawning grounds off the Queen Charlotte Islands. A
second vessel will operate from Kodiak, Seward, or Homer and fish
Portlock Bank. A third vessel will operate from Dutch Harbor and
fish the Misty Moon Ground in the southeast Bering Sea. A fourth
vessel will operate from Dutch Harbor or Adak and fish near Petrel
Bank. IPHC will bear bait and ice costs; fuel costs will be borne
by the vessel. Some halibut will be retained and sold by IPHC, and
limited retention of Pacific cod and rockfish bycatch may be
allowed. Revenue from fish sales will be shared as follows: the
vessel will receive 10% of halibut revenues and 50% of bycatch
revenues. Total landings of halibut are expected to be 6,000-8,000
pounds or less per region.
The research will focus on stock
identification. Tissue samples will be collected for genetic
analysis and otoliths collected for aging and elemental
fingerprinting. At least 60 sexually mature fish of each sex will
be captured from each region. Maturity will be determined by IPHC
staff and based on each specimen's gonad development. Charters
will be completed when the requisite number of fish have been
caught and sampled by IPHC staff, the time period specified in the
bid specifications expires, or the IPHC biologist deems the
likelihood of obtaining catches to be negligible. Flat rate bids
will be accepted for completion of sampling requirements; bids
based on daily rates will be considered for the two Bering Sea
charters ONLY.
Charter specifications and bid tender forms are
available from IPHC via mail, and on our website (www.iphc.washington.edu).
The IPHC will consider only those vessels and captains having a
history of commercial longline fishing. Vessels must have
accommodations for two Commission employees (including women) in
addition to an experienced captain and crew, capable of fishing 25
or more skates per day and handling potentially large quantities
of halibut in adverse weather conditions. The IPHC will evaluate
vessels based upon the experience of the captain and crew with
longline fishing, winter fishing experience, the safety features
of the vessel, and charter costs. Vessels must have a bait shed to
protect personnel from weather; a shelter deck is desirable. In
addition, vessels must have adequate deck space for mounting an
IPHC sampling shack (
