Charter fisherman from Southeast Alaska has filed a lawsuit against Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez over the new rule that limits anglers to one halibut per day when fishing from charter boats. Previously the limit was two halibut per day. Last week the federal district Judge Rosemary Collyer granted a temporary restraining order to block the imposed one fish limit. Next hearing has been scheduled for June 20.
In the suit the fishermen mentioned that the secretary allegedly failed to comply with the fair and equitable allocation requirements of the Northern Halibut Act. The suit also alleged that the secretary has violated the Administrative Procedures Act. Earl Comstock, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney representing the charter companies in the lawsuit, told that the Southcentral charters are anxious that it may be only a matter or time before such restrictions hit their region.
According to charter operators many anglers have already begun shift their business from Southeast to Southcentral Alaska, where a limit of two halibut a day stick exists. The National Marine Fisheries Service estimates the new limit could result in a 30 percent reduction in angler business in southeastern regions. Kathy Hansen, executive director of southeastern Alaska Fishermen Alliance, opined that the one-fish bag limit is the commercial industry’s measure to bring the charter fleet down to their allocation.
