Pacific Halibut Fisheries of the West Coast; 2023 Catch Sharing Plan and Recreational Management Measures

This final rule approves changes to the Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing Plan for the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC)'s regulatory Area 2A off of Washington, Oregon, and California. In addition, this final rule implements management measures governing the 2024 recreational fisheries that are not implemented through the IPHC. These management measures include the recreational fishery seasons and subarea allocations for Area 2A. This rule also adds a new inseason management provision to transfer anticipated uncaught recreational fishery allocation between the Area 2A states. Additionally, the rule establishes a new management line at Point Arena, CA, creating two subareas with separate allocations off California. These actions are intended to conserve Pacific halibut and provide angler opportunity where available.