Pacific Halibut Fisheries of the West Coast; Management Measures for the 2023 Area 2A Pacific Halibut Directed Commercial Fishery

Issuing agencies

Abstract

NMFS proposes to implement harvest specifications and management measures for the 2023 non-tribal directed commercial Pacific halibut fishery that operates south of Point Chehalis, WA (46[deg]53.30' N lat.) in the International Pacific Halibut Commission's regulatory Area 2A off Washington, Oregon, and California. Specifically, NMFS is proposing the 2023 directed commercial fishing periods and fishing period catch limits by vessel size class. The proposed action includes two 58-hour fishing periods for the directed commercial fishery. The first fishing period would begin at 0800 hours on June 27 and close at 1800 hours on June 29. The second fishing period would start at 0800 hours on July 11 and close at 1800 hours on July 13. Additionally, NMFS is proposing four catch limit apportionments across eight vessel size classes (A-H) for both fishing periods. These actions are intended to conserve Pacific halibut and provide fishing opportunity where available.