Did you know that the IPHC management area 3A, surrounding Homer, Alaska and The Kenai Peninsula, catches almost 3X more halibut than any other area? And if you take into account the two neighboring management areas, The Gulf Of Alaska accounts for 66% of all the pacific halibut taken by the United States and Canada.

IPHC management area 3A is home to some of the largest fishing ports found in Alaska. This is certainly due to the abundance of fish found in the Gulf of Alaska and its surrounding waters but also due to the ease of access provided by the road system connecting these cities to Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city. Management area 3A includes the cities of Homer, Whittier, Seward, Ninilchik, as well as the Kodiak archipelago accessible only by road, and the once thriving port of Seldovia. Kodiak and Seldovia are accessible only via plane or boat. 

Before 1964, Seldovia was one of the largest ports in the region with nearly 2,000 residents but today has only 300 year round residents. The devastating Good Friday earthquake of 1964 and the development of the road system from Anchorage through the Kenai Peninsula slowly led to Seldovia’s contraction. It is the biggest earthquake recorded in North America, and the second largest in the world, at 9.2 on the Richtor Scale and lasted nearly 5 minutes.

So it’s not surprising that the halibut capital of the world will be found in one of these management areas and most likely be found in management area 3A.