Thursday, May 22, 2008

Secretary of Commerce to Rule on Charter Halibut Limits

Secretary of Commerce to Rule on Charter Halibut Limits
Washington, D.C. – May 21, 2008 – U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez is expected to decide any day on limits for sport-caught halibut off the coast of Alaska fishermen and the outcome could mean significant economic harm on the economy of Southeast Alaska coastal communities.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has asked the Secretary to approve a 1-halibut daily limit for Southeast Alaska only, while other areas of Alaska and Canada still have 2-halibut daily limits. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) estimates a 1-fish daily limit could result in up to a 30% reduction in angler demand in Area 2C—that’s 27,000 fewer people flying into Southeast Alaska coastal communities that rely heavily on sportfishing tourism. Even a 10 percent reduction could put a significant number of charter operators out of business.

1 comment:

mark said...

When Washington State Department of Fisheries started thinking of going from a three to a two fish limit, the University of Washington did an economic impact study and came up with a 30% decrease in business. When WSDF went ahead and implemented it there was, indeed, a 30% decrease.
Gutierrez... that name sounds familiar...