The Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby this week announced changes that put the biggest prizes on tagged fish, eliminate monthly prizes for the biggest fish caught and add prizes for catch-and-release fish. The changes come in the wake of federal pressure to reduce the charter catch and rebuild a declining halibut population, reports the Homer News.
"We recognized that halibut stocks are not what they once were, and we wanted to be a proactive leader in conservation," said Monte Davis, executive director of the Homer Chamber of Commerce. ...
Biologists have said that while female halibut 200 pounds or more produce more eggs, they're not as fertile and are a relatively small amount of the breeding population. Smaller females are a greater part of the breeding stock - a group that could be hit by fishermen trying to win monthly prizes.
