The Pacific halibut fishery continues to trail recent years as both quota reductions and slower landings weigh on supply. At mid-September, harvests stood around 13.7 million pounds, equal to about 60% of this year’s coastwide limit - putting the fishery 3.2 million pounds behind the same point last year and well below the five-year average for mid-September.

By comparison, landings by mid-September in recent seasons have ranged between 16.9 million in 2024 to nearly 19.4 million pounds in 2022. This year’s shortfall was anticipated, as the International Pacific Halibut Commission cut the fishing limit by 5.5 million pounds - among the lowest quota ever set.



Looking ahead, projections suggest that by the first week of October the fishery will likely reach around 15 million pounds, keeping it well below historic levels.

For the full season, cumulative harvest can be estimated to finish around 21.9 million pounds by December 7th, leaving roughly 8 million pounds still to be caught before season’s end. Historical patterns indicate that landings between September to the end of the season have never exceeded 10 million pounds in the past five years, underscoring the likelihood of a subdued finish.

In previous years, the market would have started seeing frozen halibut offers around May but that has definitely not been the case this year as frozen supply continues to be extremely scarce to nonexistent as all new harvest is still being processed for the fresh market. Russian Pacific Halibut continues to be banned from the U.S. market as well, further straining that supply.



For North American buyers, the message is clear: supply will remain tighter than in recent seasons. Prices are expected to stay firm, with extremely limited opportunities to secure frozen. Our recommendation is that buyers may increasingly look to Atlantic halibut or other premium whitefish substitutes such as sablefish to bridge supply gaps through the remainder of the year. Look out for an upcoming episode on sablefish which is on track to see about 50 to 60 million pounds harvested by the end of the year.

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