• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
NPFMC logo

North Pacific Fishery Management Council

Managing Fisheries off the Coast of Alaska

MENUMENU
  • OUR MEETINGS
    • Current or Next Council Meeting
    • Archive of Council Meetings
    • Three Meeting Outlook
    • Future Council Meetings
    • Calendar of All Events
  • WHO WE ARE
        • COUNCIL MEMBERS
        • COUNCIL STAFF
        • NEWSLETTERS
        • ADVISORY GROUPS
        • Advisory Panel
        • Scientific and Statistical Committee
        • Other Committees
        • PLAN TEAMS
        • Bering Sea Fishery Ecosystem Plan Team
        • BSAI and GOA Groundfish Plan Team
        • BSAI Crab Plan Team
        • Scallop Plan Team
        • Social Science Planning Team
  • HOW WE WORK
    • Navigating the Process
    • Management Policies
    • Research Priorities
    • FAQ
  • FISHERIES & ISSUES
        • FISHERIES
        • BSAI Crab Fisheries
        • BSAI Groundfish Fisheries
        • GOA Groundfish Fisheries
        • Halibut Fisheries
        • Scallop Fishery
        • Salmon Fisheries
        • Arctic
        • ISSUES
          • Habitat Protections
        • Harvest Specifications
        • Monitoring and Research
        • EBFM
        • BYCATCH
        • Halibut Bycatch
        • Salmon Bycatch
        • Crab Bycatch
        • Groundfish Bycatch
        • Protected Species
        • CATCH SHARES & ALLOCATIONS
        • Groundfish Quota Programs
        • IFQ Program
        • CDQ Program
        • BSAI Crab Rationalization Program
  • LIBRARY
    • Newsletters
    • Minutes and Records
    • Coop Reports
    • Council Mailings
    • FMPs FEPs & Amend Sums
    • Glossary and Acronyms
    • LKTKS Search Engine
    • Papers & Publications
    • Prog. & Allocation Review
    • Recognition and Awards
    • SAFE Reports
    • All-Council site
    • NOAA Online Library
  • eAGENDA
  • CONTACT
sub1
  • Catch Share Allocations
  • Groundfish Quota Programs
  • IFQ
  • CDQ Program
  • BSAI Crab Rationalization Program

Halibut/Sablefish IFQ Program

In 1991, the Council recommended an Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program for management of the fixed gear Pacific halibut and sablefish fisheries off of Alaska. The Secretary of Commerce approved the Council’s IFQ Program as a regulatory amendment in 1993, and the program was implemented by NMFS for the fishing season in 1995. The Pacific halibut and sablefish IFQ Program is now the largest catch-share program in the United States.

The IFQ Program was developed to address issues associated with the race-for-fish that had resulted from the open-access and effort control management of the halibut and sablefish fisheries. Specifically, the Council identified several problems that emerged in these fisheries due to the previous management regime, including increased harvesting capacity, decreased product quality, increased conflicts among fishermen, adverse effects on halibut and sablefish stocks, and unintended distributions of benefits and costs from the fisheries.

The fundamental component of the IFQ Program is quota share (QS), issued to participants with a history of harvest in the fishery. QS is issued to individuals as a percentage of the QS pool for a species-specific IFQ regulatory area, and only individuals holding QS are allowed to make fixed gear landings of halibut and sablefish in that regulatory area. QS is translated into annual IFQ allocations in the form of fishable pounds.

Several key provisions of the program include:

  1. the process for initial allocation of QS;
  2. assignment of shares to vessel categories;
  3. provisions that allow the transfer or lease of QS in certain circumstance such as medical emergencies, military leave, and death of a QS holder;
  4. QS use and ownership limits;
  5. QS ‘blocks’ – grouped QS that cannot be broken up for sale or leases –  and limits on block ownership to mitigate excessive consolidation;
  6. a process for allocating annual IFQ based on a participants’ QS; and
  7. the establishment of Community Quota Entities (CQE)

The IFQ Committee meets on an annual basis and makes recommendations regarding potential future revisions to the IFQ program. Membership of the IFQ Committee is intended to represent a broad range of stakeholders in the IFQ fisheries, including representatives from both the halibut and sablefish fisheries, representation covering multiple areas, and IFQ processors. 

The staff contact is Sam Cunningham.

Resources

NPFMC
Resources

Halibut and Sablefish IFQ Harvest Timings
Halibut Bycatch
IFQ Committee

External Resources

NOAA: IFQ Program
NOAA: IFQ Halibut/Sablefish Reports
International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC)

Search our eAgenda

More NPFMC Documents
Halibut IFQ Background Documents
Sablefish IFQ Background Documents

Primary Sidebar

CALENDAR

  • PCFMAC Meeting
    Jan 31, 2023
    8:00 am - 4:00 pm
      National Marine Fisheries Service Science Center, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115, USA    
  • Groundfish Plan Team Stock Prioritization Meeting
    Feb 2, 2023
    9:00 am - 2:00 pm
      VIRTUAL    
  • February Council Meeting
     Feb 6, 2023, 9:00 am — Feb 13, 2023, 5:00 pm    
  • CIE Review of the ESRs
     Feb 28, 2023, 12:00 am — Mar 2, 2023, 11:59 pm
      7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Building 4. Seattle WA 98115    
  • Climate Change Taskforce
     Mar 1, 2023, 12:00 am — Mar 2, 2023, 11:59 pm    
  • Local Knowledge Traditional Knowledge Subsistence Taskforce
    Mar 2, 2023
    9:00 am - 4:00 pm
      North Pacific Fishery Management Council, 1007 W 3rd Ave Suite 400, Anchorage, AK 99501, USA    
  • LKTKS Taskforce
    Mar 3, 2023
    9:00 am - 4:00 pm
      North Pacific Fishery Management Council, 1007 W 3rd Ave Suite 400, Anchorage, AK 99501, USA    
  • Scallop Plan Team
    Mar 6, 2023
    12:00 am - 11:59 pm    
  • Salmon Bycatch Committee
     Mar 20, 2023, 12:00 am — Mar 21, 2023, 11:59 pm    
  • April Council Meeting
     Apr 3, 2023, 8:00 am — Apr 11, 2023, 5:00 pm    
  • Enforcement Committee Meeting (T)
    Apr 4, 2023
    1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
      Hybrid (T)    
  • GoTo - Council Administrative Overview
    Apr 19, 2023
    3:00 pm - 12:00 pm
      GoTo Webinar - See conference call information below    
  • Crab Plan Team Meeting (T)
     May 15, 2023, 12:00 am — May 19, 2023, 11:59 pm    
  • June Council Meetings
     Jun 5, 2023, 12:00 am — Jun 13, 2023, 11:59 pm    
  • Council Meeting
     Oct 2, 2023, 12:00 am — Oct 10, 2023, 11:59 pm    
  • Council Meeting
     Dec 4, 2023, 12:00 am — Dec 12, 2023, 11:59 pm    
 

VIEW FULL CALENDAR

Spotlight

February 2023 Meeting – Seattle, WA

Upcoming Advisory Meetings – January/February 2023

We respectfully acknowledge that the Council regularly meets, and its staff office resides, in Anchorage on Dena’ina homelands. The Council wants to honor the Dena’ina, the Indigenous Peoples who have stewarded this land across generations and continue to do so. We are glad to be part of this community, and to honor the culture, resilience, and tradition of the Dena’ina people.

Footer

NPFMC

1007 West Third Ave., Suite 400
L92 Building, 4th floor
Anchorage, Alaska 99501-2252
View Map

Newsletter

Subscribe Now
View Newsletters

Contact Us

Phone: 907-271-2809
Staff Directory
Admin Email

Top
Copyright © 2023 North Pacific Fishery Management Council • All Rights Reserved • Privacy Policy • Website by Sundog Media, LLC Logo Sundog Media, LLC.