Halibut charters brace for impact

According to KTVA, by February 2011, hundreds of halibut charter operators in Southeast and Southcentral will lose their permits when a new rule governing halibut charters takes effect. The new rule, intended to conserve halibut populations, requires skippers to apply for new permits, the total number of which is capped, and for which eligibility is limited. To apply for the new permits, a business must have been operating in 2004, 2005, and 2008. Some of the new permits will be transferable, but not all. Charter boat associations have been expecting the new rules, but they say that it doesn't make the situation any easier to take. The 60-day application period for the new permits will begin next month, but no specific dates have been set yet. Read much more here.