The 101st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) concluded on Friday, January 31st, after a busy week of presentations, Q&A sessions, and critical decisions. Representing the Southern Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition (SVIAC) was newly appointed President Bill Campbell attending his first IPHC AGM.
From the outset, it was clear that the state of halibut stocks remained concerning. Scientific presentations from the IPHC painted a stark picture of declining stocks, necessitating further reductions in Total Allowable Catch (TAC) to support recovery efforts. Both Canadian and American delegations acknowledged the urgency, agreeing that meaningful TAC cuts were essential despite some areas showing less significant declines.
Challenges for Canada’s Recreational Fishery In 2023, Canada’s Recreational TAC was set at 885,250 lbs. However, by September, recreational anglers had exceeded this limit by 9,631 lbs, triggering an early season closure.
For 2024, Canada’s Recreational TAC was reduced to 826,619 lbs, reflecting the prior year’s overage. Unfortunately, by September 2024, the fishery again exceeded its limit, this time by almost 30,000 lbs, resulting in another early closure. This overage will now be deducted from the 2025 Recreational TAC.
2025: A New TAC Reduction After significant discussions, the IPHC Commissioners implemented an aggregate 15.8% TAC reduction for both Canada and the U.S. For 2025, Canada’s total share of the Pacific halibut TAC is set at 4,735,000 lbs. Based on the agreed allocations:
15% Recreational Allocation = 680,250 lbs – 30,000 lbs deducted for the 2024 overage
This leaves Canada’s 2025 Recreational TAC at close to 650,250 lbs, marking a substantial reduction of over 175,000 lbs from 2024.
Next Steps The Sport Fishing Advisory Board (SFAB) Halibut Working Group will now develop a coast-wide fishing plan for 2025. While the specifics remain to be determined, anglers should prepare for potential adjustments to the season, including a later start, an earlier closure, and/or tighter size limits.
Stay tuned for further updates and the official DFO Halibut Fishery Notice.
Bill Campbell President, SVIAC
—
About the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPCH)
The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) is an intergovernmental organization established in 1923 by a treaty between the United States and Canada. Its primary role is to manage and conserve the Pacific halibut stock within the waters of the two nations. The commission aims to ensure the sustainable harvest of Pacific halibut for current and future generations.
Key Roles of the IPHC in Fisheries Management:
Stock Assessment and Research:
Conducts scientific research and monitoring to assess the health and abundance of Pacific halibut stocks.
Develops biological and ecological data to inform management decisions.
Catch Limit Recommendations:
Sets annual total allowable catch (TAC) limits for Pacific halibut fisheries in U.S. and Canadian waters, ensuring sustainability.
Regulation Development:
Establishes regulations for halibut fishing, including gear restrictions, size limits, fishing seasons, and area closures.
International Collaboration:
Facilitates cooperation between the United States and Canada in managing a shared resource.
Coordinates with stakeholders, such as commercial and recreational fishers, Indigenous groups, and other regulatory bodies.
Enforcement and Compliance:
Works with national agencies, such as NOAA (U.S.) and DFO (Canada), to ensure compliance with established rules and regulations.
The IPHC plays a crucial role in maintaining the ecological and economic viability of Pacific halibut fisheries, which are significant to the livelihoods of coastal communities in both countries.
As most of the volunteers that helped out with the Sooke Chinook Salmon Enhancement project are aware, most of our supplies and materials for the Temporary Marine Enclosure (TME) project (nets, weights, pipes, pump, feed, testing equipment, etc) are stored in a Seacan across from the Sooke Harbour Resort and Marina.
Thanks to the generosity of Sue and Chris Rumsby, the Seacan has resided on their property for the past 8 years. Now, with a pending sale of the Rumsby property, we have been advised that the Seacan will need to be relocated to a new home.
We are currently looking for a new location for the Seacan – preferably close to the Sooke Harbour Resort and Marina – for the next few years. If you have an accessible space on your property for a 8 ft x 20 ft Seacan, and would be willing to host it, please let us know. Activity around the Seacan is truly minimal!
Thanks in advance for your consideration. For more information or if you have any questions, please contact Bill Campbell (bill@anglerscoalition.com)
SVIAC’s Board of Directors has commenced planning for a new governance model to support SVIAC going forward. This new governance model will provide for a separation of responsibilities from the Board of Directors and a new set of responsibilities for a group of Working Committees.
The Board of Directors is also developing plans for more engagement of our SVIAC members. During Covid, our membership dropped significantly and it’s only this year that we started to recover, with 108 members signed up in 2024.
We are also planning to hold quarterly Zoom meetings with our members to keep you apprised of what we are working on, and where we can use their assistance. It is our intent to engage more of our members in SVIAC’s projects and activities. We are currently investigating another conservation project in the lower island that we will discuss at a future date.
We Need You!
Note that we will not only be looking for potential Board Members and Committee Leads, but we will need more volunteers to step up to help run the initiatives. It is our hope that we can establish a volunteer database of our members and their friends and families for support.
And, the SVIAC Board of Directors has recently been approached to provide a series of local Angling workshops and seminars to new boaters in the region. These may include: How to Catch Salmon; How to Catch Halibut; How to Catch Crabs, How to Catch Prawns, How to Anchor for Halibut; and other angling topics.
We are now considering expanding our SVIAC mission to include Angler education, which would be an exceptional opportunity for some of our members to share their experience and expertise and engage with our communities.
Lastly, with all of the changes underway with the new governance, a new mission and potential new projects, we have decided to refresh our SVIAC logo to reflect a reboot of our society. SVIAC 2.0…Proudly Presenting this new logo, watch for it in our material moving forward!
For more information, or if you or your family and friends would like to volunteer, or if you have any questions, please contact Bill Campbell ( bill@anglerscoalition.com).
Triumphant Return of the Alpine Juan de Fuca Fishing Tournament!
It was a fantastic weekend in early September for the return of the long celebrated, and clearly missed, 2024 Alpine Juan de Fuca Fishing Tournament. Anchored by our two Major sponsors – The Alpine Group and GFL Environmental, the event returned in a big way. With a $20,000 first place prize, and a total prize board featuring more than $45K for the top ten fish, there was a buzz in the fishing community and word spread quickly.
The Tournament organizing committee had envisioned a successful restart and planned the event for up to 300 participants. A fun Tournament Registration event, hosted at the Langford Legion #91, kicked off the fundraising Tournament. Dinner and beverage specials provided by the Legion were supplemented with lots of raffle prizes and a big 50/50 draw, Tournament T-shirts and friendly banter.
As the Tournament Registration event was the last opportunity to purchase Tournament tickets, the organizers were prepared to sell a few more tickets prior to the 9:00PM cutoff. By the end of the night, ticket sales had exceeded over 500, greatly exceeding the committee’s expectations.
As the sun came up on a beautiful fishing day, it didn’t take long for the action to start at the Tournament Weigh Station hosted at Pedder Bay Resort and Marina. Minutes after the Weighmaster opened the Station, the first Chinook of the day was hanging on the scale at 22.05 lb. Two more Chinook quickly followed, and while there were some lulls in the arrivals, by 11am there was a steady stream of fish being weighed in.
All day long, the Tournament’s volunteer weigh-in, cleaning, and recording team got into a groove and managed to process the 56 fish submitted in a timely fashion. Even when the final push came at the 3:00PM Tournament cutoff, the line was deep but the team processed them quickly. A crowd gathered around the Weigh Station and across the scenic outcrop overlooking Pedder Bay, with growing anticipation for the final outcome.
When all was said and done, a beautiful 22.25lb Chinook weighed in by Danny Wick narrowly took the first place prize of $20,000. Finishing in second place, by only 1 tenth of a pound, and winning $7000, was Mary Roschat. In 3rd place, at 22.05 lb was one of our Sponsors – Jeremy Petzing from The Local. In total, 56 fish were weighed in the Tournament (and lots more caught, but not necessarily weighed once their fishers saw the leaderboard!).
The Tournament organizers would like to sincerely thank all of the fishermen who donated their catch to the Sooke Food Bank. After fileting and bagging the fish, we were able to provide the Sooke community with over 70 large bags of fresh salmon filets. And with recent news that the Sooke Food Bank was closing due to lack of donations, SVIAC donated the proceeds of the Registration Night 50/50 draw to the Sooke Food Bank – $1575, to support their important work in the community.
The Tournament Organizing committee and sponsors overall were thrilled with the outcome of this year’s Tournament. While the Tournament was well received by the participants, there were certainly some takeaways for improvements in the future, with lots of good things learned from this experience. A huge THANKS to the volunteers for all their efforts, and we hope more members and friends will step forward to make next years’ event even better!
Most importantly, this Fishing Tournament is a major fundraiser event for the South Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition. Thanks to the Sponsors, Participants and Volunteers, over $50,000 was raised in this year’s Tournament.
The funds raised will go to support SVIAC’s Chinook Enhancement Initiative in the Sooke Basin, which has released almost 5 million Chinook smolts into the Salish Sea over the last 8 years. Specifically, the funds will be used towards replacing the aging net pens and structural repair work to the enclosures used to host the smolts. SVIAC has also started planning and engaging other communities to expand this initiative to other locations on Southern Vancouver Island.
Finally, in addition to our Major Sponsors – The Alpine Group and GFL Environmental – SVIAC would like to formally recognize and thank the many great local community businesses who supported and sponsored the 2024 Alpine Juan de Fuca Fishing Tournament!
Action Car and Truck Accessories ATP Bait and Tackle Cap-It Victoria Chateau Victoria Hotel and Suites Finest At Sea Four Points Sheraton Victoria Gateway Island Outfitters Keycorp Maxxam Insurance Mill Bay Marine Group / AdventureCo Pedder Bay Resort and Marina Peetz Canada
Peninsula Co-op Pewarchuk CPA Scotty Fishing Shockwave SpringTide Whale Watching Temptech Mechanical Ltd. The Local Pub Trotac Marine Victoria Coal and Heating Victoria Tug and Barge Williams Scrap Metal Zapco Welding and Fabricating
Save the Date: September 7, 2025 for next year’s Alpine Juan de Fuca Fishing Tournament
So May 31st has passed and the SVIAC membership draw has taken place and …
conngratulations goes to …
Greg Barkes
who won the INA Marine 9.9 Yamaha kicker motor
— also —
congratulations goes to
Alex Corbet
who won the Wicked Lures Hoody and Tackle Package
Many THANKS to INA Marine for their generous donation of a new Yamaha 9.9 high thrust long shaft kicker in support of SVIAC’s 2024 Membership Drive and also thanks to Wicked Lures for their generous donation of a really cool hoody and tackle package.
————————————
Memberships are still for sale through our SVIAC website … if you haven’t bought one yet, you should. Help support our efforts and utilize the member loyalty program. Get your memberships here!
SVIAC is pleased to announce the return of its popular Membership Loyalty Benefits Program for 2024! We cannot do what we do without the support of our cherished local businesses and of course, our members! So get your membership today (Click HERE!) and visit the following local retailers (links provided for most in the name below!) to take advantage of these great offers!
Fire Safe Fire Extinguishers– 10% OFF fire safety equipment.
Cap-It Victoria – discount on purchases – 2374 Millstream Road, #106, Victoria, BC V9B 3R3
