The halibut population off Alaska, British Columbia, and the U.S. Pacific Northwest has fallen from record highs in the late 20th century to what is likely at, or near, their lowest point on record.
The commercial halibut harvest dates back more than a century. Fishing crews lay lines of baited hooks along the sea bottom and bring the fish aboard one by one.
Halibut stocks, through the decades, naturally undergo big fluctuations. But some veterans of the halibut fleet are concerned that a natural downturn in stocks has been aggravated by fishing pressures. All of this is unfolding at a time when climate change creates new uncertainties about the marine ecosystem. In 2024, Bering Sea longline crews caught less than half their quotas allocated by the International Pacific Halibut Commission.
