Homer, Alaska - Halibut Capital Of The World?
Is Homer, Alaska Truly The Halibut Capital Of The World - There Is Pretty Strong Argument Supporting That Claim
Homer, Alaska is the Halibut Capital Of The World. Anglers from all over the world come to Homer, Alaska in search of some of the largest halibut found anywhere on earth. Alaska is home to most of the world’s halibut records and the overall all-tackle world-record was caught in Dutch Harbor, Alaska in 1996 weighing in at a whopping 459 lbs.
But what is it that makes Homer, Alaska the halibut capital of the world? Does it truly deserve this distinction or is this just grandiose self-promotion and marketing? The answer is yes! Homer, is truly the halibut capital of the world. Read on to understand more about the Pacific halibut fishery, halibut fishing and halibut management in Alaska, and why Homer, Alaska has earned the distinction as the Halibut Capital Of The World.
IPHC Regions
The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) has created 9 different management areas for the management of Pacific Halibut. These areas range from Southern California all the way to Alaska and include Oregon, Washington, and Canada.
These ares are used to manage pacific halibut for commercial fishing, sport charter fishing, and subsistence fishing.
The majority of all harvested pacific halibut are found in the Alaska management areas. And within Alaska, management areas 2C and 3A dominate the harvest. The halibut fish populations in areas 2C and 3A are so plentiful, and pressure is so high, that without careful management it would be easy to overfish this amazing resource. For this reason the IPHC and NOAA developed a limited entry requirement starting in 2011 that now really defines how the charter fleet in regions 2C and 3A are allowed to operate.
Halibut Catch Per IPHC Management Area
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.
Knowing that region 3A catches more halibut than any other area in the world, it would make sense that as we search for the halibut capital of the world, it’s likely to be found in this region.
Alaska Halibut IFQ
Many of Alaska’s commercial fisheries, including the pacific halibut fishery, are managed under what is called the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ).
Alaska’s commercial halibut fishing industry is regulated by the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), which sets annual catch limits and quotas for both the U.S. and Canadian sides of the border. In Alaska, halibut is managed using an individual fishing quota (IFQ) system, which allocates a specific amount of halibut that each fisherman or vessel is allowed to catch each year. An Alaska IFQ is a system of allocation of fishing rights in the state of Alaska. It is a type of fishing management program that is designed to help ensure the sustainable harvest of fish in the state’s waters. Alaska is not unique to using IFQ’s as many other managed fisheries use the same management technique.
Under the IFQ system, each fisherman or fishing vessel is allocated a specific amount of fish that they are allowed to catch each year. This quota is based on the fisherman’s or vessel’s historical catch in the area, and is designed to ensure that the total catch of a particular species remains within sustainable limits.
The IFQ system is used to manage a number of different species of fish in Alaska, including halibut, sablefish, and crab. It is intended to provide a more stable and predictable fishing environment for fishermen, while also helping to conserve fish populations and protect the health of the state’s marine ecosystem.
How To Determine Which Port Truly Deserves The Title Halibut Capital Of The World?
Our proposal is a simple one. Lets just figure out which area and port brings in the most amount of pacific halibut each year. And rather than measure by total number of fish we’ll measure it by total number of pounds brought in. This is actually a pretty fair way to look at it as total biomass is the primary measurement tool used to determine how much breeding stock there is. Weight is also the main metric used to purchase the product whether that purchase is made by wholesalers processing fish or consumers in the local fish market. Finally, weight information is far more readily available than total number of fish or size of fish. So, it makes for a great metric to figure out which city or port is truly the halibut capital of the world!
Halibut Landings By Port
Pacific halibut are closely monitored by fishing location, fishing vessel, and port of unloading – which is usually the closest major port to where the vessel was fishing.
This chart shows the number of pounds of halibut that has been unloaded at each port from 2015 to 2022 in millions of pounds by IFQ (commercial fisherman). The top 6 ports for halibut fishing are Homer, Kodiak, Seward, Petersburg, Sitka and Juneau.
You can see from the chart that Homer and Kodiak are often in quite a strong battle for the top top spot each year. In fact, Homer has beat out Kodiak in 4 of the last 8 years, and Kodiak has out fished Homer in 4 of the last 8 years. In 2018, Seward took the top spot (barely) but 2nd place went to Homer beating out Kodiak.
The Top Pacific Halibut Landings Are All In the Gulf Of Alaska
The top 6 ports, that brought in the most harvested pacific halibut, were all found in the Gulf Of Alaska. And the Top 4 are all located at the area of the Alaska in closest proximity to The Kenai Peninsula and Kodiak Island. The IPHC has designated this area as area 3A.
Generally speaking both Homer and Kodiak share much of the same 3A fishing grounds. Many of the Homer commercial and sport charters looking for long-range, big fish, in deep water will head towards Kodiak, and the Barren Islands. At the same time many of the Kodiak commercial and sport charters will simply head north from Kodiak towards the same shared areas.
8 Year Totals
If we add up each year from 2015 to 2022 and look at the combined totals for each of the ports over this 8 year period it helps to further determine the winner. Especially since in the last 8 years the winner between Homer and Kodiak as been split with 4 wins each.
Once we total 8 years of historical data the answer becomes obvious. Homer, Alaska is the clear winner bringing in almost 1 million more pounds than Kodiak, Alaska.
If we wanted to go back into the record a little further Homer significantly beat Kodiak in both 2014 and 2013. In fact, In 2013 alone, Homer brought in 1 million more pounds of halibut than Kodiak.
But this is just the commercial fishing numbers (which account for approximately 82% of total catch), what about the sport fishing numbers? Read on to learn more about that.
Halibut Charter Fleet Fishing
Homer, Alaska has the largest charter fleet in Alaska and sails more daily charters than any of the Alaskan ports and significantly more than Kodiak. The primary reason for this is simply due to the ease of access. And, of course, because the quality of fishing is so high, so is the demand.
Getting to Homer from just about anywhere in the world is pretty easy. There are lots of fights, particularly in the summer, into Anchorage and then Homer is a beautiful and scenic 5 to 6 hour drive. Kodiak Island requires the same landing in Anchorage but then also requires a commuter flight on a smaller turbo-prop that runs on a far more limited schedule.
Because Homer is simply far more accessible and Kachemak Bay is a very popular destination, Homer, Alaska, simply sends out a lot more daily halibut trips than any other Alaska location.
If we are using total catch to make an argument for the halibut capital of the world then adding the sport halibut charter numbers to argument only extends Homer’s lead.
Homer Truly Deserves The Distinction Of Halibut Capital Of The World
Pacific halibut can be found from California all the way up the pacific coast through Oregon, Washington, Canada and extensively throughout the Alaska region. The colder and more nourishing the waters get the bigger these fish get. Bard doors they call them!
So there you have it. If you consider all the halibut caught each year, the vast majority of them are caught in Alaska. Predominately caught in IPHC regions 2C and 3A of the Gulf of Alaska. And if you look at by the total number of pounds of halibut brought into each port, and adding that up over an 8 to 10 year period of time, Homer, Alaska, is the clear and undisputed champion. Furthermore, if you look at this just from the commercial fishing perspective or the sport-fishing perspective, Homer, Alaska is once again the winner in both categories.
With this argument, there is no doubt that Homer, Alaska is the deserved halibut capital of the world.
A Final Word - Homer, Kodiak, Seward, Whittier, Cordova, Juneau, Petersburg, and Sitka
Regardless of where you are going in Alaska, the halibut fishing in the gulf of Alaska is going to be absolutely spectacular. We need to not forget that all of those major ports are all fishing the exact same management areas: 2C and 3A.
It’s important to not forget about the Bristol Bay area of Alaska, west of the Aleutian islands. And, The all-tackle world-record, 469 pound halibut was caught way down that Aleutian chain in Dutch Harbor, Alaska back in 1996. There are simply halibut everywhere in Alaska!
Each area has it’s own charm and unique perspective on the halibut fishery but we’ll leave that to another discussion. For now, enjoy knowing why Homer, Alaska is the halibut capital of the world and that no matter where you may choose to take your Alaska halibut fishing charter – you’re going to have an amazing experience.
But of course, it won’t be quite as good as doing it with Homer Halibut Hunters, in Homer, Alaska – the halibut capital of the world!
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