Pacific halibut quota set

At its annual meeting in Seattle on Monday, the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) recommended setting the 2010 halibut quota at 50.7 million pounds.

That’s about 2 million pounds higher than what IPHC scientists proposed in early December. However, it’s 3.4 million pounds less than 2009’s 54.1-million-pound halibut quota.

For 2010, quotas were reduced in four of the 10 regulatory areas, which stretch from California to Alaska’s Bering Sea. Areas 4B, 4C, 4D and 4E — all located in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands — will see an increase, while 2A, 2B, 2C, 3A, 3B and 4A will see a decrease.

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