Halibut

Halibut

Halibut Fishing License

A DMR Halibut Fishing License is required to commercially fish for halibut. In 2023, this license replaced the halibut endorsement on the Commercial Fishing License. Those who previously purchased a Commercial Fishing License for the sole purpose of obtaining a halibut endorsement should now purchase the Halibut Fishing License instead. The Halibut Fishing License is open access, meaning there are no restrictions to obtain the license based on past participation or landings history.

Reporting Requirement for Halibut Fishing License Holders

DMR’s reporting requirements require those who hold a halibut fishing license to submit weekly trip-level catch reports during the halibut season (May 18-June 13). In addition, the fishery has moved to electronic harvester reporting. The reporting week for halibut begins on Sunday at 12:01am and ends Saturday at midnight. Trip level catch reports must be submitted weekly by midnight on Monday, two days after the end of each report week. This means that between May 18 and June 13, halibut fishing license holders will need to submit reports on a trip-level basis for five weeks.

Find halibut reporting regulations in Chapter 8: Landings Program section 8.20F

The FAQ document below describes the harvester reporting week, when harvesters have to report, and how to report electronically.

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Frequently Asked Questions: Halibut Harvester Reporting

Why is weekly reporting necessary?

Weekly trip level reporting will improve the timeliness of halibut catch reports and provide DMR with in-season landings information. Given the halibut season is less than a month, monthly reporting resulted in a lack of in-season landings information, making management of the fishery to the state waters sub-ACL challenging. As a reminder, there are severe penalties if halibut landings exceed the Acceptable Biological Catch limit, including a zero-possession limit for all federal permit holders (such as lobster). In addition, monthly reporting has contributed to a pattern of late reporting in the halibut fishery, where some fishermen who only use their commercial fishing license for halibut have little incentive to report until they renew their license. This means that DMR doesn’t receive a complete picture of catch until just before the start of the next fishing season, often resulting in emergency rulemaking if changes are needed. This precludes the collection of public comment ahead of a regulation change.

Who does this requirement apply to?

The requirement for weekly electronic reporting applies to commercial harvesters who hold a halibut fishing license.

When do I need to report?

The reporting week for halibut begins on Sunday at 12:01 a.m. and ends Saturday at midnight. Weekly trip level catch reports must be submitted by midnight on Monday, two days after the end of each report week. In 2024, the halibut season begins on Saturday, May 18th and ends on Thursday, June 13th. This means that in 2024, halibut fishing license holders will need to submit weekly catch reports for five weeks:

Submit report(s) by Monday, May 20 for fishing activity during May 18
Submit report(s) by Monday, May 27 for fishing activity during May 19-25
Submit report(s) by Monday, June 3 for fishing activity during May 26-June 1
Submit report(s) by Monday, June 10 for fishing activity during June 2-8
Submit report(s) by Monday, June 17 for fishing activity during June 9-13

Do I have to report if I did not fish that week?

Yes. If you did not go fishing during the reporting week you are required to submit a Did Not Fish Report.

I went fishing for halibut, but I didn’t land any. Do I still have to report?

Yes, if you went fishing for halibut during the reporting week but didn’t land any halibut, you are still required to submit a trip-level catch report and indicate that no fish were landed.

Do I need to report sublegal (discarded) halibut?

Yes. Reporting sublegal halibut is crucial for providing data on the size range of halibut encountered by the fishery.

Did the data elements in the catch report change?

No changes were made to the data elements in the halibut catch report. A list of the information required in a halibut catch report can be found in the Chapter 8: Landings Program section 8.20(F).

What happens if I hold both a Maine halibut fishing license and a federal Northeast multispecies permit?

The VESL reporting app provides a way for harvesters with both a state halibut fishing license and federal Northeast multispecies license to fulfill both their state and federal reporting requirements with one report. DMR strongly recommends the use of this electronic reporting option as it is the easiest for those who are dual-permitted to report during Maine’s halibut season.

The reporting requirement in Chapter 8 applies to those who hold a Maine halibut fishing license, and it requires the harvester to report landings from Maine’s territorial waters during the Maine halibut season (May 18-June 13). Therefore, if a harvester chooses not to use VESL, there are several reporting situations which could occur during the state halibut season (May 18- June 13).

If you harvest halibut exclusively in federal waters but land halibut in Maine, you will need to submit a positive catch report to NOAA (eVTR) and submit a negative report to DMR.
If you harvest halibut in state waters, you will need to submit a positive catch report to both NOAA and Maine.
If you did not fish for halibut, you will need to submit a Did Not Fish Report to DMR and nothing needs to be reported to NOAA.

Again, these reporting requirements can be accomplished in one-step via VESL. Following the end of the Maine halibut season, there are no reporting requirements associated with the Maine halibut fishing license. As a reminder, there is already a requirement for those who hold federal Northeast multispecies permit to report electronically within 48 hours of the end of a trip.

How do I report electronically?

There are several ways to report electronically to DMR including VESL (the new harvester reporting app) and Maine LEEDs.
Information on VESL:

Information on LEEDs

Instructions on harvester reporting through LEEDs

Whom do I contact if I have questions?

For questions about harvester reporting, including how to report electronically, please contact landings.dmr@maine.gov or 207.633.9500 (select Option 2 for Landings and then Option 4 for electronic reporting help)

For questions about the management of halibut, including state and federal regulations, contact Megan Ware at megan.ware@maine.gov or 207.446.0932