With the latest IPHC catch update, 2025 can now be confirmed as a new record-low Pacific Halibut harvest. Preliminary landings totaled just 17.5 million pounds, representing 6.8 million pounds missing from the market when compared to last year - a 28% drop from 2024’s already record-low 24.4 million pounds, and 35% below the 5-year average.

Final catch totals are still to be determined, however this would not materially change the season’s historic low outcome.



With Pacific Halibut supply remaining exceptionally tight and no new production expected for the next three months, buyers seeking halibut coverage will now need to turn to alternative options to maintain supply continuity.

Although Russia produces a modest volume of Pacific Halibut - approximately 3 to 4 million pounds annually - Russian-origin products remain effectively prohibited from entering North American markets, offering no meaningful relief to the current supply shortage.

Our recommendation is that halibut buyers explore alternatives such as Atlantic Halibut - which is available in both wild-caught and farmed formats - to maintain supply continuity until the next Pacific Halibut season in March 2026.

The 2026 fishery limit will be set on January 22 during the IPHC Annual Meeting. Remarkably, just four years ago few would have anticipated catch limits dropping to the record-low levels seen in 2025 - yet the Commission now faces that same difficult decision once again as it works to balance industry livelihoods with long-term biological sustainability of Pacific Halibut.



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