A diverse group of halibut users is appealing to Alaska's congressional delegation to support their appeal for significant reductions in the incidental catch of these fish in order to allow directed halibut fisheries to remain open and viable.

The halibut bycatch caps in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands must be reduced to avoid a conservation emergency, the group said in their letter of April 22.

They asked Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both R-Alaska, and Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, for their support at the upcoming June meeting of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in Sitka, where final action on the issue is slated.

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