Wrangell Sentinel -

Halibut catches weren’t slashed as badly as people feared, although they still continue on a downward trend – and the outlook is grim.

A coast wide catch of 31 million pounds was approved on Friday by the International Pacific Halibut Commission, a decline of 7.5 percent from last year, and far better than the 30% cut that was widely anticipated. Alaska’s share of the Pacific catch is 23 million pounds, down 2.5 million pounds across the board.

The IPHC commissioners, three from the US and three from Canada, each said the 2013 annual meeting last week was the toughest one ever.

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