By Carla Wilson, Victoria Times Colonist

Victoria, B.C. - B.C.’s halibut allocation among commercial and sports fishermen will not change this year but anglers will be allowed to lease quota if they want more fish.

Federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea announced Tuesday that the commercial fleet will keep its 88 per cent share of the catch, and the sports fishery its 12 per cent under a formula in place since 2003.

Sports fishermen don’t like that split. They have upped their efforts to get it changed so that they can catch more fish. Commercial fishermen, however, don’t want to see their share reduced in favour of the recreational sector.

The recreational fishery opens March 1, allowing anglers to catch one halibut per day, and have two in their possession. Sport fishermen failed to convince Ottawa to let them catch two halibut per day.

Tempers have flared along the coast during meetings last year over how the halibut allocation should be divided among these two groups.

“I’m disappointed to report that those discussions have reached on impasse and stakeholders have been unable to reach a consensus. Because of this, a ministerial decision is required to move forward for the 2011 season,” Shea said.

The commercial fishery opens March 12, with the sports fishery opening on March 1. Recreational fishermen are unhappy because last year’s opening was in the beginning of February. They say they’ve lost customers who didn’t want to wait and have gone elsewhere for charters.

The Huu-ay-aht First Nations on Vancouver Island’s west coast is also fighting any reduction in the commercial catch. Its new treaty allows for halibut to be caught under the commercial allocation. If that shrinks, so would their allowed catch.

Randy Kamp, Shea’s Parliamentary Secretary, will work with fisheries staff to draw up options for the 2012 halibut fishing season, Shea said.

The options must meet conservation concerns, including better monitoring of the recreational fishery to make sure what is caught is within allowed limits, she said. Commercial fishermen in contrast, already operate in highly monitored system with cameras on board and catch counts.

This year the International Pacific Halibut Commission is recommending that the U.S. and Canada agree on a total catch of 41.07 million pounds. B.C.’s share would be 7.65 million pounds.

During last year’s seaso, B.C.’s recreational halibut landed catch was 1,020,393 pounds (fresh, dressed weight), according to the federal Fisheries department. The commercial halibut catch mortality (landed and released fish) by all groundfish fleets was 6,574,441 pounds (fresh, dressed weight) during the 2010/2011 fishery season. Halibut can be a bycatch in fleets targeting other species.