IPHC Regulatory Area 2A

In Washington State, thirteen tribes exercise treaty rights to obtain an allocation of the total Pacific halibut catch limit in IPHC Regulatory Area 2A. In 1995, the U.S.A. government prohibited non-treaty commercial Pacific halibut fishing north of Pt. Chehalis off the coast of Washington to achieve court-ordered allocation to the tribes. Tribal groups and the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission oversee local management of the fisheries.

Native groups in Washington also have subsistence fisheries. The IPHC Regulatory Area 2A tribal ceremonial and subsistence fishery is part of the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s Catch Sharing Plan.