Halibut charter fleet owners in Southeast Alaska affiliated with the Charter Halibut Task Force have voted unanimously to support a lawsuit to challenge a recent federal decision that imposes a one-fish a day limit, a ruling that begins June 5.

Earl Comstock, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney for the task force, cautioned in a memo to the group following the vote that everyone needs to understand that the courts give great deference to the government in any court challenge.

But, he added, the group has strong substantive and procedural arguments to raise, and has a strong chance to win the case.

"The only down side is if we lose, it arguably sets the precedent that the guideline harvest level was a fair and equitable allocation, but since that is the position that National Marine Fisheries Service and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council already have taken, we really don't lose anything," he said.

Kathy Hansen, executive director of the Southeast Alaska Fishermen's Alliance in Juneau, was more optimistic that the rule as laid down by NMFS would hold this time.

"In reading the final rule, NMFS did a much tighter job in writing and responding to all the issues that have been raised, and I feel pretty good about what they have written, Hansen said May 11. "Maintaining the one-fish rule is important to maintaining the stocks."

Hansen noted that the NMFS and the federal council both said that halibut stocks would be managed to the guideline harvest level, a level set to assure sustainability of stocks.

"The charter fleet can want two fish for their (customers') license and I understand that, but they are a commercial-size industry that has had a growing trend, which is why the council has spent 15 years dealing with charter issues," she said.

The unguided sport fishing sector, meanwhile, has remained stable in its harvest yields, she said.

The charter fleet has exceeded the guideline harvest level for that fishery in Southeast Alaska for the last five years.

When federal fisheries officials ruled in favor of a one-fish a day limit for the charter customers in Southeast Alaska last year, the Charter Halibut Task Force was successful in its challenge in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia.

The federal council earlier determined that a one halibut a day limit is necessary to constrain the halibut charter fleet in Southeast, also known as Area 2C, to the charter fleet's allotted guideline harvest level. Without such action, the council concluded, the halibut resource would be in danger of significant depletion by the charter industry.

The commercial setline fleet in Southeast Alaska, meanwhile, has continued to operate under strict individual fishing quotas. Over the past three years, the commercial setline quota in Area 2C has been cut 53 percent to buffer halibut stocks against overharvest.

Setline harvesters argued that this reduction in the commercial quota results in a direct reduction of halibut available to the public in grocery stores and restaurants.

The International Pacific Halibut Commission has also been increasingly concerned about the overharvest of halibut in Area 2C by the charter fleet.

In a statement released after the IPHC's 2009 annual meeting, the commission said that it also considered the proposed NMFS one-fish bag limit for charter fisheries in Area 2C for 2009.

"The commission expressed its desire to see implementation of effective management measures for this fishery, in consideration of the guideline harvest level of 788,000 pounds defined for this fishery," the commission said. "The commission will therefore monitor the implementation of the NMFS proposed rule. In the event of conservation concerns, the commission will be prepared to make extraordinary action at an intercessional meeting in 2009 to pass IPHC regulations commensurate with the intent to conserve the resource, should there be any delay or problem with the implementation schedule for the NMFS regulation."