December 18, 2025
Council Meeting Decision Summary Documents highlight significant activities and decisions made at Council meetings. Fishery management decisions made by the Council are formally transmitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) as recommendations and are not final until NMFS approval. For a more detailed account of Council meeting discussions, see the Council meeting record and transcripts.
Pacific Halibut Management
2026 Commercial and Recreational Catch Sharing Plan and Annual Regulations – Final Action
At its November 2025 meeting, the Council took preliminary action to adopt the Washington and Oregon state sport season proposals as presented in the Washington and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife reports; an April 1 (or as early as practicable) start date for the California sport season, as recommended by the Groundfish Advisory Subpanel; and status quo (the same season structure as in 2025) for the directed commercial halibut fishery, as recommended by both the Groundfish and the Salmon Advisory Subpanels.
At this meeting, the Council adopted final changes to the 2026 Commercial and Recreational Catch Sharing Plan (CSP) and annual regulations. The Council’s recommendations align with the state and advisory body recommendations made in November and are summarized below:
NON-TRIBAL DIRECTED COMMERCIAL HALIBUT FISHERY
The Council recommended the status quo season structure for 2026:
- The 2026 season will consist of a series of three-day openings each beginning at 8 a.m. Tuesday and ending at 6 p.m. on the Thursday of that week.
- The first opening would be on the fourth Tuesday in June, the second opening would be two weeks after the first opener, and the third opening would aim to be two weeks (but not later than three weeks) after the second opener.
- Subsequent openings would occur as soon as possible. Notice of the dates for the first three openers would be announced in the Federal Register prior to the start of the season.
PERMIT DEADLINES
The Council recommended changes include adjusting the CSP to reflect the change in permit deadline to March 15 (or the following business day if March 15 lands on a weekend or holiday) for all Area 2A non-Tribal commercial halibut fisheries. This change was previously announced in the 2025 Pacific Halibut Fisheries of the West Coast, Management Measures for the 2A Pacific Halibut Directed Commercial Fishery Final Rule (90 FR 26931).
WASHINGTON SPORT
Puget Sound Subarea (Marine Areas 5–10):
- The Council recommended status quo for the Puget Sound Subarea. Under status quo, the 2026 season structure would mirror that of 2025, with the default opening date of the first Thursday in April for 2026 (April 2).
North Coast Subarea (Marine Areas 3 and 4):
- The Council recommended status quo for the North Coast Subarea. Under status quo, the 2026 season structure would mirror that of 2025.
South Coast Subarea (Marine Area 2):
- Consistent with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s recommendation, the Council recommended adjusting the CSP to establish a season that is open four days per week in May (Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Tuesday) and three days per week in June (Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday), if sufficient quota remains.
- The Council also recommended that the management objective include a primary goal of using the subarea quota during May and June, with a secondary goal of using any remaining quota in August and September if the primary goal is not met.
- The proposed open days are similar to previous years, but add a fourth day (Friday) in May and limit June to three days per week rather than up to eight.
WASHINGTON/OREGON SPORT
Columbia River Subarea (Marine Area 1):
- In line with Washington Oregon Departments of Fish and Wildlife recommendations, the Council recommended adjusting the CSP to remove the nearshore fishery for 2026 and reallocating the associated 500 pounds to the all-depth fishery.
- The Council also recommended the CSP be adjusted to clarify that the determination of whether quota is sufficient to open back-up dates will be based on May catch and effort and June projections.
OREGON SPORT
Central Oregon Coast Subarea:
- The Council recommended adjusting the CSP to allocate 75 percent of the subarea sub-quota to the spring all-depth fishery, regardless of the Area 2A fishery catch exploitable yield (FCEY), and:
- If the Area 2A FCEY is 700,000 pounds or greater, allocate 10,000 pounds to the nearshore fishery and allocate the remaining sub-quota to the summer all-depth fishery; or
- If the Area 2A FCEY is less than 700,000 pounds, allocate the remaining 25 percent of the sub-quota to the nearshore fishery.
- The Council also recommended adjusting the CSP to specify that the nearshore season opens May 1, seven days per week, in waters shoreward of the 40-fathom (73 m) regulatory line unless the Area 2A FCEY is below 1.2 million pounds, in which case the opening may be postponed to June 1.
CALIFORNIA SPORT:
- For all California sport subareas, the Council recommended changes to the CSP that would allow for the flexibility to open in April.