Central coast: Summer all-depth halibut season open daily starting Sept. 1

ODFW also increases daily bag limit to 2 fish

August 16, 2022

NEWPORT, Ore – Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife today announced changes in two subareas of the Pacific halibut sport fishery.

Central Coast Subarea (Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain):
Beginning Sept. 1, the summer all-depth halibut season is open daily (seven days/week) at all depths until the quota is reached or Oct. 31 with a two fish daily bag limit. Annual limit remans six halibut. With a little over 140,000 pounds remaining in this subarea (all-depth and nearshore combined), daily fishing at any depth gives anglers more opportunity to harvest the halibut allocation.

The Sept. 1 halibut start date coincides with the recreational all-depth bottomfish fishery so anglers can retain all-depth halibut and regular bottomfish (not restricted to longleader gear) on the same trip.

• Through Aug. 31, open Thursday to Saturday.
• Beginning Sept. 1, open seven days per week until the quota is caught, or Oct. 31.

Southern Oregon Subarea (Humbug Mountain to California border):
Beginning Sept. 1, anglers may retain two halibut per day; annual limit remains six fish. Season open dates remain unchanged (open daily through Oct. 31 or until quota met).  

Check a map of the subareas here.  

Pacific halibut regulations:

• Pacific halibut anglers must have a descending device onboard the vessel and use it to release any rockfish species when fishing 30 fathoms or deeper.
• Beginning Sept. 1 south of Cape Falcon, anglers can keep two Pacific halibut daily, six per year. North of Cape Falcon, the bag limit remains one Pacific halibut daily six per year.
• The Stonewall Bank Yelloweye Rockfish Conservation Area (YRCA) located in the Central Coast Subarea is closed to Pacific halibut fishing.
• Anglers on vessels possessing Pacific halibut or bottomfish are prohibited from fishing in the Stonewall Bank YRCA even when targeting legal species (salmon and tuna).

Reminder, when the all-depth fishery is open, all-depth rules must be followed, regardless of depth of halibut fishing. See Pacific halibut sport regulations for more information.