New halibut charter regs causing concern over fleet reduction

According to the Peninsula Clarion, new National Marine Fisheries Service regulations that limit available halibut charter permits around the Gulf of Alaska are expected to reduce the fleet by more than a third, and that's worrying many. The new rules, which are to take effect in February, mean that all halibut charter skippers in areas 3a and 2c (which cover the halibut breadbasket that stretches from Southcentral to Southeast) will have to reapply for permits, and charter businesses that weren't in operation in 2004 or 2005 and 2008 aren't eligible. A denied application can be appealed, of course, but a spokesperson said that standards for granting clemency won't cover voluntary pauses in operation and will only apply where unforseen circumstances can be proven, things like engine malfunctions, health problems or family tragedies. The fleet is expected to lose 34 percent in area 3a and 43 percent in area 2c, and losing that much competition will affect the market -- some say positively, others say negatively, but most agree that for charter businesses that retain permits, increased profits are likely. Read much, much more, here.