Prices for commercial halibut shares reach jaw-dropping level
As Alaska’s iconic halibut fishery wraps up this week, stakeholders are holding their breath to learn if the catch limit might ratchet up slightly once again in 2017. Meanwhile, prices for hard-to-get shares of the halibut catch are jaw-dropping. The halibut fishery ends Monday for nearly 2,000 longliners who hold halibut IFQs (Individual Fishing Quotas). The Alaska fishery will produce a catch of more than 20 million pounds if the fleet reaches its limit. Last year, the halibut haul was worth nearly $110 million at the Alaska docks. For the first time in several decades, the coast-wide Pacific halibut harvest numbers increased this year by 2.3 percent to nearly 30 million pounds. Along with Alaska, the eight-month fishery includes the Pacific Coast states and British Columbia. Read the story here 09:07
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