Alaska Charter Association

To Protect the Rights and Conserve the Resources of Alaska's Sport Fishery
Alaska Charter News 
November 2018: 

Halibut Catch Numbers - Preliminary
Options for 2019 season discussed
Boat Rentals
IPHC Interim Meeting
ACA Members Renew Membership Dues

We sent out PayPal notices for our members to make it easy to renew this year. 


Interim IPHC Meeting 
27-28 November 2018
Seattle, WA

ACA President Richard Yamada has already been attending meetings as a new Commissioner on the IPHC.

Documents related to the upcoming Interim Meeting of the IPHC can be found here. 

With lots of new faces on the Commission, and lots of unresolved issues between Canada and U.S. over the allocation of fish, this will be a challenging season. 

Charter Halibut Committee meets - Options for 2019 Considered

Preliminary 2018 Catch Results show 2C came in 10% under allocation, 3A 4% over 

Our representatives on the Council's Charter Halibut Committee met last week in Anchorage to discuss the preliminary catch results from this season. In South-central, the catch was 4% over allocation. While down from last year's overage of 10%, a declining halibut stock abundance may mean additional harvest restrictions may have to be implemented for 2019. We will not know preliminary stock abundance for 2019 until IPHC Interim Meeting, November 27-28.

While the news is better in Southeast AK, coming in 10% under allocation, a declining halibut biomass is predicted to continue the next three years and SE guided anglers may have to consider new harvest restrictions such as annual limits, daily trip limits, and possible day of the week closures. 




Council Targets Boat Rentals

The North Council passed a motion to go out for further review, addressing the regulations for unguided recreational anglers using rental boats for halibut fishing in Alaska. 

Not much is known about the growth of rental boat operators, but the catch is accounted for within the overall unguided catch, which comes off the top. 

 The motion adopted for review by the Council  proposes options for potential regulations for unguided anglers on rental boats. There is an option to restrict anglers on rental boats to the same regulations, size and bag limits, as guided anglers on charter boats.

The ACA has not taken a position on this motion. We have members who rent boats, and others who are concerned about the impact on the industry posed by rental boat operations. This is an opportunity to weigh in to the Council with your thoughts on the issue. 

The deadline for public comment for the next Council meeting is November 30th.
 
The Council meets in Anchorage December 3-11 if you can make it for public testimony.

  New NOAA Fisheries Alaska Science Center Director

" Today, NOAA announced the appointment of Dr. Robert Foy as the new Science and Research Director for NOAA's  Alaska Fisheries Science Center . In this role, he will oversee the agency's work to monitor the health and sustainability of fish, marine mammals, and their habitats across nearly 1.5 million square miles of water surrounding Alaska. He will direct scientific research to support and sustain some of the world's most valuable marine resources, including commercial fisheries for Alaska pollock, red king crab, and sablefish in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea. He will also oversee agency research in the Aleutians, a 1,200-mile long island chain full of marine life, and in the Arctic Ocean, home to marine mammals including bowhead and beluga whales, and bearded and ringed seals." Find out more.

  • Because you can improve fishing opportunity for your clients.
  • Because you have a voice at fishery meetings that change your future. 
  • You belong to the Alaska Charter Association.
If your dreams include flying scales and full fish totes, you 
need the Alaska Charter Association to inform, educate, and fight for you  
at these important fisheries meetings. 

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