Nearshore halibut to close in Columbia River Subarea on June 30

NEWPORT, Ore. — The Pacific halibut nearshore sport fishery in the Columbia River Subarea (Leadbetter Pt., Wash. to Cape Falcon) will close at 11:59 pm on Saturday, June 30 because the entire subarea quota has been caught.

Opportunities to fish for Pacific halibut remain open in other areas of Oregon:

Off central Oregon between Cape Falcon (near Manzanita) and Humbug Mountain (near Port Orford), the spring all-depth halibut fishery has enough quota remaining for two back-up dates to be open, Friday, July 6 and Saturday, July 7.

Anglers can fish for halibut inside the 40-fathom line seven days a week through Oct. 31 or attainment of the harvest quota (25,856 pounds) for that fishery.

The summer season all-depth is scheduled to begin on Aug. 3-4 every other Friday and Saturday until Oct. 31 or the quota of 53,866 pounds has been met. The high-relief area of Stonewall Bank, west of Newport, is closed to all halibut fishing.

The area between Humbug Mountain and the OR/CA Border is open at all depths for Pacific halibut seven days a week through Oct. 31 or until the quota of 8,892 pounds has been met, whichever comes first.

Days on which Pacific halibut fishing is open will be announced on the NOAA Fisheries hotline (1-800-662-9825) and posted on the Marine Zone Recreation Report Regulation Updates page and 2018 Pacific Halibut Regulations page.