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2003 Halibut Sumary

Summary of Pacific Halibut Fisheries Management in 2003
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Intergovernmental Resource Management

48 Devonshire Road
Montesano, Washington 98563
January 2004

The purpose of this report is to summarize the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) management and enforcement activities in 2003 Pacific halibut fisheries. It includes a synopsis of Washington’s recreational catch (coastal and Puget Sound), and a description of the results of the incidental halibut catch in the sablefish fishery north of Point Chehalis. A summary of WDFW’s enforcement efforts relative to patrolling the North Coast (Neah Bay and La Push) recreational halibut fisheries is contained in Appendix A.

Washington’s Recreational Halibut Fisheries in 2003

Washington’s halibut fisheries are managed under the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing Plan for Area 2A. The catch sharing plan specifies how the Area 2A total allowable catch (TAC) as defined by IPHC is allocated or “shared” among various state commercial and recreational sectors. For Washington, WDFW manages its recreational fisheries by subarea. These subareas are:

1. Puget Sound (inside waters east of the Sekiu River, including Puget Sound)

• Eastern Region (inner Sound waters east of Low Point)
• Western Region (Strait waters west of Low Point)

2. North Coast (waters in the Strait of Juan de Fuca west of the Sekiu River and Pacific Ocean waters south to the Queets River)

3. South Coast (Pacific Ocean waters south of the Queets River to Leadbetter Point)

4. Columbia River (Pacific Ocean waters south of Leadbetter Point to Cape Falcon, Oregon)

A summary of Washington’s recreational halibut seasons for 2003 is described in Table 1.

Average weights are derived by measuring halibut lengths at the dock which are then converted to weights. Lengths are taken throughout the season on a weekly basis and applied to the number of halibut caught to project the total catch in pounds.

Puget Sound Recreational Catch Estimate

Beginning in 2002, the Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing Plan provides for the Department to set separate seasons for two regions within the Puget Sound subarea, beginning as early as April.

According to some of our Puget Sound recreational fishers, the availability (and resulting catch) of halibut in the eastern Sound has decreased in recent years after May; however, according to the Department’s enhanced telephone survey, and correspondence received from other anglers, there are some recreational fishers who are able to successfully catch halibut in June and July in Puget Sound. Department staff deliberated on how to provide recreational anglers who fish the eastern Sound with a meaningful halibut fishing opportunity, and still provide an opportunity for those who like to fish in mid-summer. Department staff also discussed the need to sample the fishery, particularly in the earlier season, to collect catch and effort data and monitor the harvest rate.

The Department manages the Puget Sound halibut fishery based on “fishing equivalent days” (FEDs). We apply the highest catch per FED for the previous five years to determine the amount of FEDs that will be available in the following season; using this method, the amount of FEDs available for the 2003 fishery was 87. In projecting the season length, a weekday is equivalent to one FED, while weekends and holidays are 2.5 FEDs. These are precautionary measures to help ensure that the subarea quota is not exceeded.

WDFW does not have sufficient funding to implement an intensive sampling strategy that would allow us to monitor and manage the Puget Sound halibut catch inseason. For the past three years, we have conducted a post-season telephone survey of licensed anglers who held catch record cards (which are required to fish for halibut in Puget Sound).

The results of the telephone survey for 2003 are:

Number of halibut caught: 3,348
Average weight: 20.4 lbs.
Total catch: 68,300 lbs.

Charter: 16% (10,928 lbs.)
Private: 80% (54,640 lbs.)
Unknown: 4% (2,732 lbs.)

As a means of ground-truthing this catch estimate, we compared the results of the telephone survey with the preliminary results of the Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistical Survey (MRFSS). At the time of this report, data from MRFSS were available only for the May-June time period; therefore, those were the only data compared. The results showed that the distribution of the catch among individual WDFW marine fish catch areas differs; however, the estimated total number of halibut caught using the two survey methods is nearly identical (2,001 halibut using MRFSS, and 2,010 halibut in the telephone survey).

In 2004, WDFW plans to continue both the enhanced post-season telephone survey and the MRFSS sampling to produce Puget Sound halibut catch estimates.

Canadian Halibut Landed Into Neah Bay

As part of WDFW’s port sampling efforts for recreational halibut fisheries, we also sample the halibut caught in Canadian waters and landed into Neah Bay. Table 2. is a weekly catch summary of Canadian halibut brought into Neah Bay by charter and private vessels.

Table 2.
Week	Charter			Private			Total
	Number of Boats	Number of Anglers	Number of Halibut	Number of Boats	Number of Anglers	Number of Halibut	Number of Boats	Number of Anglers	Number of Halibut
5/1-5/4	11	104	206	11	33	255	22	137	461
5/5-5/11	15	151	298	35	95	101	50	246	399
5/12-5/18	19	179	352	14	59	78	33	238	430
5/19-5/25	25	203	404	102	326	498	127	529	902
5/26-6/1	19	190	379	56	160	246	75	350	625
6/2-6/8	21	249	496	53	168	267	74	417	763
6/9-6/15	30	284	567	43	164	269	73	448	836
6/16-6/22	20	228	450	77	252	445	97	480	895
6/23-6/29	21	254	503	114	315	537	135	569	1,040
6/30-7/6	8	64	127	156	428	670	164	492	797
7/7-7/13	13	126	219	54	159	262	67	285	481
7/14-7/20	8	62	123	100	230	363	108	292	486
7/21-7/27	4	40	79	42	132	236	46	172	315
7/28-8/3	3	37	74	67	168	299	70	205	373
8/4-8/10	8	68	137	169	461	770	177	529	907
8/11-8/17	4	50	98	67	200	315	71	250	413
8/18-8/24	3	38	73	105	252	385	108	290	458
8/25-8/31	2	13	27	17	33	16	19	46	43
9/1-9/7	3	25	50	19	37	70	22	62	120
9/8-9/14	0	0	0	10	33	36	10	33	36
9/15-9/21	0	0	0	7	19	25	7	19	25
9/22-9/28	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9/29-9/30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TOTAL	237	2,365	4,662	1,318	3,724	6,143	1,555	6,089	10,805

Table 3. compares the Canadian halibut catch landed into Neah Bay in 2000-2003. The total catch in pounds is calculated using the average weight for the U.S. fish landed into the North Coast subarea for each respective year.

Table 3.
Year	Number of Boats	Number of Anglers	Number of Halibut	Avg Wt (lbs)	Total lbs
2003	1,548	6,070	10,805	20.3	219,666
2002	1,328	5,361	9,027	19.7	177,832
2001	1,594	6,202	9,716	18.875	183,390
2000	2,007	6,857	10,088	20.8	209,830

Incidental Halibut Catch in the Sablefish Fishery North of Point Chehalis, WA

The 2A Halibut Catch Sharing Plan provides for incidental landings of halibut in the primary longline sablefish fishery north of Pt. Chehalis, Washington, in years when the Area 2A TAC is greater than 900,000 lbs. Beginning in 2003, the Pacific Council revised its Catch Sharing Plan to cap the amount of halibut to the directed sablefish fishery at 70,000 lbs. The remaining allocation was transferred back to the Washington recreational fishery and divided among the subareas according to the method described in the Plan. The Council continued the landing ratio of 150 lbs. of halibut for every 1,000 lbs. of sablefish, and the fishery began in April with associated halibut landings allowed beginning in May. Fishers were also allowed up to two additional halibut per fishing trip to provide some flexibility in complying with the regulation.

Thirty-one individual vessels made a total of 121 landings containing halibut in the directed sablefish fishery. The average amount of sablefish in these landings was 7,545 lbs. and the average amount of halibut was 605 lbs. (both dressed, halibut with head on). Using the ratio of halibut to sablefish in the regulation, fishermen could have averaged as much as 1,132 lbs. of halibut (plus two additional halibut) for that amount of sablefish; therefore, the regulation appears to be accommodating the incidental halibut catch in most sablefish landings. The total catch of halibut in the sablefish fishery was 74,233 lbs. (dressed, head-on), which converts to 65,325 lbs. (dressed head-off).

Summary

For 2004, WDFW had proposed a few changes to the Catch Sharing Plan, which were adopted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. These changes include moving the opening date of the north coast subarea fishery from May 1 to the first Tuesday between May 9 and May 15. Harvest rates in the north coast subarea fishery has increased significantly over the past few years such that the May quota can be achieved within a few weeks. We have received information from participants that the weather tends to be more favorable toward the end of May, and that some people would like to have the opportunity to fish through Memorial Day weekend (an opportunity that has not been available recently). By moving the opening day to the 2nd or 3rd week of May, it would increase the likelihood that the fishery could last through the end of May. Another change pertains to the south coast fishery that implements an automatic switch from a five-day/week fishery to a seven-day/week fishery beginning on July 1 to capture most of the coastal recreational salmon season.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife plans to continue to monitor and sample our recreational and commercial fisheries, including the amount of halibut caught in Canadian waters and landed into Neah Bay; take a precautionary approach when setting our Puget Sound season, and use the enhanced telephone survey method to calculate our post-season catch estimate; maintain our enforcement efforts during the halibut recreational fisheries, including conducting joint patrols with the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans; and monitor the efforts to document halibut bycatch in the West Coast trawl fisheries and recommend appropriate action through the Pacific Fishery Management Council.

Appendix A.

WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM

Statewide Marine Patrol Division
The following is a summary of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Enforcement Program efforts relative to patrolling the North Coast recreational halibut fisheries. Protection responsibilities for all living resources in marine environments are assigned to the Statewide Marine Patrol Division.

While halibut directed patrols are outlined below, additional uniformed officer presence occurred on halibut grounds and in associated ports during the coastal recreational salmon season (June 21 through early October). Although this additional patrol effort has not yet been calculated for 2003, based on previous years’ records, it is estimated that 300 hours were expended patrolling Marine Area Four (Neah Bay).

During all of their patrol activities, enforcement officers did not witness any incidents of: (1) Fishing in U.S. waters during the closed season; (2) retaining two halibut per angler in U.S. waters and claiming to have caught them in Canadian waters; and (3) claims of fishing in Canadian waters without being able to produce a Canadian recreational fishing license.

Summary of Directed Halibut Patrols
April 28- May 4, 2003 - Eighteen members of the Statewide Marine Division from all four detachments embarked on “Operation Yelloweye,” which took place in the Neah Bay and LaPush area. The focus of this emphasis patrol was enforcing new closures during the recreational halibut season put into place to protect yelloweye rockfish. Assisting the Marine Division Officers were two agents from the National Marine Fisheries Service and several Officers from Canadian Fisheries and Oceans Service. The operation utilized four patrol vessels from WDFW, one undercover vessel and one patrol vessel from Canada. Aircraft from WDFW participated and was instrumental in the apprehension of two vessels fishing inside the “C-shaped” yelloweye closure. Enforcement contacts on the water resulted in 129 recreational vessels and 335 anglers checked. Four charter vessels with 32 fishers were also inspected. Six commercial vessels engaged in harvesting crab, groundfish and salmon were boarded. Officers working dockside contacted 276 anglers. All of this work resulted in 22 citations, 7 verbal warnings and 2 written warnings. Enforcement actions were taken for a charter vessel that exceeded the limit for halibut, halibut overages related to sport vessels, possession of yelloweye during the closed season and fishing for halibut in a closed area.

May 5-11, 2003 - Officers patrolled local ramps and checked halibut fishermen. No citations were issued for halibut fishing violations.

May 12-18, 2003 - Officers patrolled the halibut sport fishery in the Neah Bay area. They checked fishermen in Marine Areas 4, 5 and 6 and issued 6 citations for overlimit of lingcod, rockfish and undersized lingcod in the Neah Bay area. They also issued one written warning and four verbal warnings for halibut fishing in the “C-shaped” closed area offshore of LaPush.

May 19-26, 2003 – WDFW conducted an emphasis patrol to address any problems associated with the North Coast holiday weekend halibut opener. However, rough ocean conditions kept many anglers in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. A total of 16 citations were still issued for possession of undersized lingcod, possession of fish in a mutilated condition, fishing halibut in a closed area and exceeding the limit for rockfish.

June 18-21, 2003 - Officers patrolled two days (Friday and Saturday) of the four-day fishery with no significant violation activity being observed.

August 8-10, 2003 - Officers patrolled the one-day halibut opener from the enforcement vessel “Corliss.” Presence on the halibut grounds occurred the day prior to the season, the day that it opened and the day after it opened. Officers issued four citations—all for fishing in the “C-shaped” closed area.

Other Halibut Enforcement Activities
On October 21, 2003, WDFW Officers executed a search warrant on a Tacoma, Washington residence after developing probable cause that halibut caught during sport seasons were being illegally sold from that location. An officer posing undercover as a prospective buyer purchased frozen halibut on two occasions. The suspect admitted to being engaged in this kind of illegal activity for the past ten years, selling about 400-500 pounds of halibut per year. Further investigation revealed that a portion of the halibut sold was caught in Canadian waters under a Canadian sport license. The suspect’s 19-foot fishing vessel was seized and felony charges have been recommended.