As the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) works with stakeholders to evaluate the needs of the California halibut fishery and community, we would like to inform you of an upcoming discussion on bycatch in the California halibut trawl and gill net fisheries, scheduled for the Marine Resources Committee meeting on Thursday, November 17, 2022. The meeting begins at 8:30 a.m. and the halibut discussion is item number 5 on the agenda.
The discussion will begin with an overview of the process for evaluating and addressing fishery bycatch as outlined in the 2018 Marine Life Management Act Master Plan for Fisheries. CDFW will then provide an update on the analysis of bycatch data in the California halibut fishery, followed by a discussion on how to determine what bycatch is “acceptable”. Finally, a potential committee recommendation will be developed.
This meeting is open to the public and attendees will have the option to participate in-person, or virtually. If you wish to speak at the meeting, please follow the directions found on the last page of the agenda. Written documents and materials will be posted here in advance of the meeting.
To participate virtually, you may join via Zoom, or by telephone. Click here for instructions on how to join the meeting.
For those able to attend in-person, the meeting will be held at:
Handlery Hotel San Diego
950 Hotel Circle North
San Diego, CA 92108
Remember to visit CDFW’s California Halibut Scaled Management Process webpage for more information and subscribe to receive email updates. The enhanced status report for California halibut is also available on CDFW’s Marine Species Portal.
CDFW invites you to share this information with your peers and constituents through your communication channels, and we look forward to maintaining open lines of communication as we continue our work on California halibut.
Please email mlmafisheriesmgmt@wildlife.ca.gov with questions or concerns at any time.