Final Rule: Pacific Halibut Directed Commercial Fishery Annual Management Measures

NOAA Fisheries published a final rule (91 FR 36094, June 16, 2026) implementing fishing periods and catch limits for the 2026 non-Tribal directed commercial Pacific halibut fishery. NOAA Fisheries is taking this opportunity to remind fishery participants of other regulatory requirements during the fishery and provide resources to assist fishery participants in complying with those regulations.

Fishery Allocation

The 2026 allocation for this fishery is 261,211 pounds (118.5 mt), net weight.

Fishing Period Dates

• Fishing period #1: June 23 at 8:00 a.m. to June 25 at 6:00 p.m.
• Fishing period #2: July 7 at 8:00 a.m. to July 9 at 6:00 p.m.
• If a third fishing period is needed to reach the allocation, it is intended to occur 2 weeks after the second fishing period (July 21^st).

Fishing Period Limits

Fishing period limits (vessel catch limits) are shown below, in dressed weight, head-on with ice/slime. Note: Vessels with tenths of feet will be rounded up to the nearest foot for the purpose of fishing period limits.

Inseason Announcements

lnseason announcements come through direct email to fishery permit holders in the non-Tribal directed commercial fishery, sent to the email address used to apply for a halibut permit. lnseason announcements made via email include notice of additional fishing periods, fishing period limits, and closure announcements.

Announcements and fishery updates will also be distributed through newsletter emails , posted to the NOAA Fisheries website as bulletins , and published in the Federal Register. Any Fishery updates will be reflected on the West Coast Pacific Halibut page.

Fish Tickets and Reporting

Fish tickets must be submitted in accordance with state rules and regulations: Washington , Oregon , California. Timely submission greatly helps NOAA Fisheries assess fishery catches inseason and send out timely updates.

Logbooks

The IPHC requires all vessels greater than 26 feet to maintain logs of halibut catch for 2 years. The IPHC approves the following logbooks to meet this requirement:

IPHC and ODFW logbooks must be submitted to the IPHC within 30 days of the close of the season. Please see the additional fishing and gear regulations from the IPHC and the Compliance Guide for Federal Non-Trawl Logbook Requirements for more information.

Vessel Monitoring System (VMS)

VMS is not an explicit requirement for participating in the directed Pacific halibut fishery, but, if a vessel is otherwise required to use VMS (such as when retaining groundfish), it is then also required during Pacific halibut fishing operations. Vessels that are required to have a VMS must make the following declaration: Open access Pacific halibut longline gear (declaration code 62) ( 50 CFR 660.14 ), as well as any other applicable declaration codes. See NOAA Fisheries Vessel Monitoring System on the West Coast page for more information: Compliance Guide, Declaration Report Worksheet, and approved VMS units .

Closed Areas

Vessels are prohibited from fishing within closed areas as defined in 50 CFR 300.63(f), including the non-trawl Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs). RCAs are depth-based areas closed to fishing with certain gear types. The RCA boundaries are lines that connect a series of latitude and longitude coordinates and are intended to approximate particular depth contours. Coordinates that define the RCA boundary lines are listed at 50 CFR 660.71(e), 50 CFR 660.73(a), and 50 CFR 660.72(j). All vessels must comply with Pacific halibut RCA regulations regardless of groundfish retention.

See Pacific halibut regulations and the NOAA Fisheries West Coast Groundfish Closed Areas page for more information on closed areas, including Essential Fish Habitat Conservation areas and Yelloweye RCAs. See Schedule of RCA boundaries for Non-Trawl Open Access Gears for boundary lines.

Seabird Avoidance

Vessels retaining only Pacific halibut are not required. Any vessel retaining groundfish that is at least 26 feet in overall length, and is operating in federal waters (3 nm - 200 nm) north of 36° N. lat.; must follow the requirements of the groundfish Seabird Avoidance Program (50 CFR 660.21). See the compliance guide for more information.

Other Regulations and Resources

Regulations listed above are only a partial list of applicable regulations. Some helpful links to more regulations and resources include:

Questions?

Contact the West Coast Region Pacific halibut team at [email protected] .