Fish & Water - Sounds Wild
Every Halibut Counts

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Halibut release

A couple of friends are anchored up in Icy Strait on a summer day, fishing for halibut. They've caught several they've kept, and released a few as well.

Anglers in Alaska release about half the halibut they catch. Anglers release halibut that are too small or too large to keep under regulations. Some folks don't like to eat big halibut, and others release big halibut to promote conservation of the resource. Most halibut weighing more than 80 pounds are females, and big females produce a lot of eggs - and a lot of baby halibut.

In 2013, two charter fishing operators contacted the Alaska Marine Conservation Council and proposed a set of voluntary best practices for releasing sport-caught halibut. They worked the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program to develop the project, which became known as Every Halibut Counts.

The principle is simple: treat every fish gently to maximize its chance of survival. To do this:

Decide to keep or release a fish while it's still in the water.

Keep an unhooking device or gaff ready, and release the hook with a quick push and twist motion.

If the fish is too big or gut hooked, cut the leader as close to the hook as possible. Hooks will corrode and eventually fall out.

If you must bring a fish into the boat to measure it or to roll the hook out by hand, cradle it with both hands. Never lift a fish only by the tail or the gills.

And lastly, slip the fish gently back into the water head-first. Never throw a fish back.