Feds propose syncing Alaska's sablefish season with halibut's hours

The National Marine Fisheries Service proposed Tuesday to let Alaska's sablefish season open and close at the same times of day as the halibut season, ending a mismatch the agency says forces some longliners to throw sablefish back.

Boats often fish for both. In 2024, the International Pacific Halibut Commission moved the halibut season to open at 6 am and close at 11:59 pm. Federal rules still set every groundfish opening and closing at noon, so halibut now opens six hours before sablefish and closes 12 hours after it.

Sablefish caught on halibut gear outside sablefish hours count as incidental catch and can be kept only up to a set limit, so fishermen either wait to set gear or discard the extra, according to the proposed rule, which publishes Wednesday. This year, sablefish opened at noon March 26, six hours after halibut, and closes at noon Dec. 7, while halibut runs until 11:59 pm, according to NMFS' season bulletin.

The rule would let NMFS' Alaska regional administrator match the sablefish individual fishing quota and Community Development Quota season to whatever hours the commission sets for halibut, now or later.

A second change would let NMFS close groundfish fisheries in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska at an hour other than noon. The rule gives an example: if a fleet catches 500 metric tons a day and 750 tons remain, a noon closure has to come a day early, leaving 250 tons uncaught. A midnight closure could let more of it be harvested.

NMFS says the changes would have no adverse economic effects on small fishing businesses and a modest benefit.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council asked for the changes in April and October 2025. At the council's June 5 meeting, Linda Behnken of the Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association said the seasons had been synced for decades, and the commission moved halibut to 6 am "under the understanding that those opening dates and times were joined at the hip." Of the rule requiring fishermen to release sablefish caught on gear set before noon, she said, "You have to keep track of that, and it's silly." She asked for a fix by the 2027 season.

West Coast managers dropped similar noon-to-noon limits on that coast's sablefish season this summer, Alaska News reported in July. Comments on the Alaska proposal are due Nov. 20.