The action continues a downward trend for halibut, one of Alaska's most important commercial fish harvests, worth more than $170 million dockside in recent years.

Since 2005, the catch limit has declined by about 31 percent, with some subareas – particularly Southeast Alaska – suffering much deeper cuts over that timeframe.

The International Pacific Halibut Commission, which wrapped up a weeklong meeting in Seattle on Jan. 29, set a catch limit of 4.4 million pounds for Southeast (Area 2C). That's about 12 percent lower than last year and 60 percent lower than the 10.9 million pounds Southeast was allotted in 2005.

The decline has struck fear in the minds of Southeast fishermen, many of whom bought harvest rights – known as individual fishing quotas or IFQs – and have hefty loan payments to make. As the overall catch limit for halibut drops, so does the poundage value of the IFQs.

Some harvesters are said to be fishing hard for salmon or other species to keep their halibut businesses afloat.

"I know there are families that have their houses mortgaged against their halibut quota," said Jev Shelton, a veteran Juneau halibut fisherman. "If this continues there will be a lot of boats lost, businesses lost and even houses lost."

It could have been worse for Southeast halibut fishermen, as the commission's scientific staff had recommended an even steeper reduction in the area's catch limit than what the commission adopted.

The commission annually apportions the catch limit across 10 regulatory areas stretching from the coast of California to British Columbia to the Bering Sea. The commission has six voting members – three from the United States and three from Canada.

In general, the commission has earned high marks since its establishment in 1923 for its research and management of a lucrative jumbo flatfish that supports not only commercial longliners, but subsistence users and halibut charter boat operators, as well.

The bulk of Pacific halibut is harvested off Alaska, where some 2,900 persons hold commercial quota shares, federal figures show.

As the stock has trended down, competition and legal conflicts has intensified between commercial fishermen and charter boat operators, whose catch eats into the commercial quotas.

Jim Balsiger, who heads the National Marine Fisheries Service and who chaired the halibut commission meeting, said he supported allotting some extra fish to Southeast, as well as to British Columbia and the West Coast.

One U.S. commissioner, however, Ralph Hoard of Seattle, didn't agree with exceeding the recommendations of staff scientists and voted no.

Balsiger said a mix of considerations went into his vote, including the economic distress of fishermen, the need to reach a deal the Canadians commissioners could support, the fact that the halibut stock remains robust, and good prospects for young fish growing to harvestable size in coming years.

"Science is not perfect," Balsiger said.

The most productive area for halibut production is Southcentral Alaska (Area 3A), which includes the top commercial ports of Homer, Kodiak and Seward. Commissioners set a catch limit for this area of about 20 million pounds, down 8 percent from last year.

Not all areas will see a cut this year. For the western Aleutian Islands, commissioners actually increased the catch limit by 15.5 percent to nearly 2.2 million pounds.

The commercial halibut season will open on March 6, about two weeks earlier than last year, and run until Nov. 15.

Shelton, the Juneau fisherman, said he doubts the dockside price for halibut will improve much this season, despite the lower supply. Last year, amid the recession, he estimated the price was down 10 to 15 percent from 2008, when the statewide average was a strong $4.27 per pound.

"Halibut is a high-priced commodity right now," Shelton said, a staple in upscale restaurants.

But consumer resistance to spending more at retail for the meaty white fish likely means harvesters can't expect higher prices to offset the quota cuts, he said.