[ODFW-News] Pacific halibut sport fishery to re-open June 22-24

[ODFW News]

For Immediate Release Monday, June 19, 2006

Pacific halibut sport fishery to re-open June 22-24
 
NEWPORT - Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials announced
today all-depth Pacific halibut sport fishing between Cape Falcon and
Humbug Mountain will re-open June 22-24. More than 30,000 pounds of the
halibut spring quota is still available to anglers.
 

If sufficient quota remains after June 24, the spring all-depth fishery
may continue on one or more of the following days: July 6, 7, 8, 20, 21
and 22.  Open dates will be announced on the National Marine Fisheries
Service NOAA Fisheries hot line 1-800-662-9825 and posted on the ODFW
Web site at www.dfw.state.or.us/mrp/ click on the picture of the
halibut.
 
Nearshore Pacific halibut fishing is open seven days a week shoreward of
the 40-fathom curve, defined by waypoints, between Cape Falcon and
Humbug Mountain. The summer all-depth Pacific halibut fishery between
Cape Falcon and Humbug Mountain begins August 5. Pacific halibut sport
fishing is open seven days a week at all depths south of Humbug
Mountain. 
 
The daily bag limit for Pacific halibut is one fish, and the annual
limit is six. There is no minimum length requirement. When Pacific
halibut are onboard the vessel, retention of groundfish species, except
sablefish (black cod), is prohibited on all-depth halibut days between
Cape Falcon and Humbug Mountain. The high-relief area of Stonewall Bank,
located roughly 15 miles west of Newport and defined by waypoints, is
closed to Pacific halibut fishing at all times.
 
Regulations from previous all-depth periods are still in effect.
Specific regulations for Pacific halibut, including GPS waypoints
defining the 40-fathom line and the Stonewall Bank conservation area,
can be found in the 2006 Oregon Sport Ocean Regulations for Salmon,
Halibut and Other Marine Fish Species booklet, as well as on the ODFW
website. General fishing regulations are found in the Oregon Sport
Fishing 2006 Regulations booklet.
 
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