Halibut setline survey gets underway

Pacific halibut caught and sampled during the first of International Pacific Halibut Commission’s 2020 Fishery-Independent Setline Survey were expected to be up for sale this week, to offset costs associated with conducting the survey.

The IPHC began soliciting interested buyers on June 25, asking those interested to fill out required forms indicating their interest to be notified and to receive a request for tender when these sales are made at select ports.

Average trip poundage for Pacific halibut will range from two tons to 16 tons, with incidental amounts of rockfish and Pacific cod. Each batch of fish will also include any Pacific halibut that are sampled and less than 32 inches in length, the IPHC said.

Sales are to be awarded based on the IPHC’s objectives of achieving a fair market price, with sales agreements to be based on prices at the time of the sale. Obtaining a fair market price will be a primary consideration in awarding fish sales, the IPHC said.

Preference is also being given to buyers with a history of successfully marketing Pacific halibut and following ethical business practices.

The 2020 setline survey launched with first hooks in the water on June 27, with a goal of fishing 898 stations between then and Aug 31.

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First trips were to be offloaded from July 4-6.

Nine setline survey boats are actively fishing in the IPHC convention area, with a total of 11 boats to be deployed over the course of this setline season. The primary purpose of the survey is to collect standardized fishery-independent data for use in the Pacific halibut stock assessment. The same data is used to study aspects of the Pacific halibut resource such as growth, distribution, biomass, age composition, sexual maturity, and relative abundance of other species.

Virtual training of IPHC setline survey specialists was conducted from June 22-25. Those specialists were then immediately deployed following strict testing and quarantine procedures put in place by the IPHC Secretariat in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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