The International Pacific Halibut Commission has recommended to the governments of Canada and the United States a 27.5 million pound halibut catch limit for 2014, down some 3.5 million pounds for 2013.

The announcement last week came at the conclusion of the IPHC’s 90th annual meeting in Seattle. The commission also approved a season of March 8 through Nov. 7 for the US and Canadian individual quota fisheries. The recommended catch limits are 960,000 pounds for Area 2A, including California, Oregon and Washington, and 6,850,000 pounds for Area 2B, British Columbia, and includes a sport catch allocation.

For Area 2C, in southeastern Alaska, and Area 3A, in the central Gulf of Alaska, the combined allocations were for the commercial and guided sport fisheries.

The commercial fishery in Area 2C got 3,318.720 pounds and guided sport anglers got 761,280 pounds, for a total of 4,160,000 pounds. Last year Area 3C was allocated 2,970,000 pounds, up 13 percent from the 2012 limit of 2,620,000 pounds.

In Area 3A, the commercial fishery had an allocation of 7,317,730 pounds, and guided sport anglers got 1,782,270 pounds. The total, 9,430,000 pounds, was down from 11,030,000 pounds a year ago.

Area 3B, the Western Gulf of Alaska, was allocated 2,840,000 pounds, a drop from 4,290,000 pounds in 2013, and 5,070,000 pounds in 2012.

Area 4A, the eastern Aleutians, got a quota of 850,000 pounds, down from 1.3 million pounds a year ago, and Area 4B, the central and western Aleutians, was given 1,140,000 pounds, compared to 1,450,000 pounds in 2013.

Area 4CDE got a total of 1,285,000 pounds, including 596,600 pounds each for the Pribilof Islands (4C), and the northwestern Bering Sea (4D0 and 91,800 pounds for the Bering Sea flats (4E).

Read more at Fishermen’s News Online.