Halibut Seasons

[Skillet]

Have they been announced yet? Chomping at the bit to go after 'em in Area 9, gotta get my vaca squared away!

[D-Rock425]

   when is the season regularly?

[sirmissalot]

Just proposed dates, nothing official yet. It's getting ridiculous

[Skillet]

  when is the season regularly?

It opened up for Area 9 last year on May 2...

You ever caught a halibut before?  If not, you can't go with me.  The last time I took you  out for a "first" you popped a 35", 15# ling cod - and with your luck, I'd have to plan on how to get a hundred pound flattie into my 17' boat...

[Skillet]

Just proposed dates, nothing official yet. It's getting ridiculous

Yep.  They announced it this time last year.  Word on the street is per the sampling and data crunching, halibut abundance is down again and the commercial fisheries are hashing out right now how and when they're going to take their reduced catch before we get our seasons. 

[Mfowl]

I believe Area 9 is tentatively set to open May 9th. There are less days in the Straits, San Juans and Sound this year due to exceeding the quota last year.

[fishngamereaper]

I believe Area 9 is tentatively set to open May 9th. There are less days in the Straits, San Juans and Sound this year due to exceeding the quota last year.

Looks like we may only get like 6-8 days on the inside, and lucky to get 4 on the outside. It is getting old, the recreational guys get the reduction in quota, yet the tribes maintain status quo.

[Skillet]

Everybody's quota goes down the same percentage.  Tribes get half of what is available, commercial and sports get to split the other half.  So if the quota went down by 10,000#, technically the tribes as a group feel hit the hardest because they have to give up 5000#.  We split our give-back with the commercials, so if it was 50-50, we'd give back 2500#. As I understand it, anyway.

So do I feel sorry for the tribal fishing fleet?  Oh hell no...

[D-Rock425]

  when is the season regularly?

It opened up for Area 9 last year on May 2...

You ever caught a halibut before?  If not, you can't go with me.  The last time I took you  out for a "first" you popped a 35", 15# ling cod - and with your luck, I'd have to plan on how to get a hundred pound flattie into my 17' boat...

nope never caught one never even tried to catch one.  I did however pick up a pretty nice yacht from a guy last week I'll just follow you to your honey holes.

[Skillet]

I have to correct myself on the split.  This is from the 2014 Halibut Catch Plan for our area 2A (CA, OR and WA):

"(b) ALLOCATIONS
This Plan allocates 35 percent of the Area 2A TAC to U.S. treaty Indian tribes in the
State of Washington in subarea 2A-1, and 65 percent to non-Indian fisheries in Area 2A.
The allocation to non-Indian fisheries is divided into four shares, with the Washington
sport fishery (north of the Columbia River) receiving 36.6 percent, the Oregon sport
fishery receiving 30.7 percent, the California sport fishery receiving 1.0 percent, and the
commercial fishery receiving 31.7 percent. "

(2A-1 is the area north of Point Chehalis, which is the southern Grays Harbor jetty, and includes the Puget Sound fishery)

Basically, as Washington sport fisherman, we get 36.6 percent of 65 percent, or 23.8% of the 2A TAC.  I haven't found the TAC numbers yet, but
I'd guess it should be right around 1 million pounds.

Guess we just have to wait and see, unless someone else has the 2014 TAC number they can share.