A federal judge in Alaska has dismissed a legal challenge filed by the Bering Sea bottom-trawl fleet against stricter halibut bycatch limits.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, or NMFS, approved a new halibut bycatch quota system in December 2021 based on annual surveys of the valuable flatfish. Instead of fixed limits, the new abundance-based system means that when halibut stocks are low, bycatch caps can be cut by up to 35%.
The lawsuit challenging those caps was filed by Groundfish Forum, a Seattle-based trade association representing five companies and 19 bottom-trawl vessels. T...
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