Homer halibut charter captains and commercial fishermen were not surprised this week by the announcement Monday by federal fisheries officials of new regulations that will cap the guided-sport halibut charter fleet and require federal permits to fish starting February 2011.

The regulations by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries do not affect private sport fishermen and subsistence and personal use fishermen. A two-fish daily halibut limit for the central Gulf of Alaska remains unchanged.

Most fishermen had seen the regulations coming, and some see the new permit system as a first step for further possible regulation of the halibut charter fleet.

A founding member of the Alaska Charter Association, Rex Murphy of Winter King Charters in Homer has been actively involved in the development of the new NOAA rule. He was on the halibut charter stakeholder committee formed in 2006 that drafted a proposed rule and, beginning in 2008, served on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council's advisory panel on the rule.

"The rule was implemented to curtail any growth in capacity. As a result of the rule, guided angler effort will be concentrated in a smaller pool of boats starting in February 2011," said Murphy, who has operated Winter King Charters for eight years. "The rule is not likely nor was it intended to reduce guided angler harvests, as the remaining boats are expected to have more than enough capacity to handle demand."

Bob Ward of A-Ward Charters, a charter captain since 1987, echoed Murphy's analysis.

"The limited entry program by itself is not helping to restrict the catch at all," he said. "There are still too many boats with too many empty seats that will allow for growth in the catch without allowing growth in the industry."

The new regulations will help manage the charter halibut catch, but not necessarily restrict the catch, and could lead to other management programs.

"This is freezing the industry at its current size and identifying the industry so the players are known so any regulations are a little easier to be enacted," Ward said.

Starting Feb. 4, charter captains will have a 60-day period to apply for either transferable or nontransferable permits. Under Alaska Department of Fish and Game regulations, charter operations already have been logging boat trips. NOAA Fisheries will send applications to those charter companies explaining the permit process. Permits will be issued in October and required to guide charters starting Feb. 1, 2011.

To qualify, charter captains have to have logged five boat trips in either 2004 or 2005 and in 2008 to get a nontransferable permit and 15 boat trips in 2004 or 2005 and in 2008 to get a transferable permit. Permits are for a specific number of passengers as fished in 2004 and 2005 and can be stacked. For example, a business that fished two six-passenger boats in two of those years can get two six-pack permits or stack them to fish one 12-passenger boat.

The limited access program also allows some rural communities to get community quotas of up to seven permits each to start guided-sport charter businesses. Halibut Cove, Nanwalek, Port Graham and Seldovia would qualify for community quotas. Except for the community quotas, limited access permits are by business and not a specific port.

NOAA Fisheries estimates about 418 permits will be granted in area 3A, the central Gulf of Alaska that includes Cook Inlet and Kachemak Bay.

Paula Frisinger, fishing derby coordinator for the Homer Chamber of Commerce, estimated 296 Homer-based charter businesses would qualify and 154 would not.

"That's an approximation. We're trying to get more information," she said.

Ward said he estimated about 65 charter businesses are active and fish full-time in the summer, with another 45 part-time or less-active operators. Of that 110, he said he guessed about 20-30 might not get permits. Many of the charter captains who won't qualify are hobby businesses.

"You're going to see some obscure person who's been a tax write-off," Ward said of captains who won't get permits.

An eight-year charter captain, Murphy, who helped draft the rule but also sees its shortcomings, summed it up by saying it privatizes guided access to the resource, places a monetary value on the permits, stifles competition and reduces incentives for continuous improvement of services.

"Imagine limiting the number of hotels in Anchorage using the criteria that only the hotels that have been here the longest can continue to operate," he said.

He also questions the rule's necessity. At one point, it was thought charter operations were experiencing "explosive, steady growth," said Murphy.

"But actually, since about 2004, our growth has been flat," he said, adding that the rule "won't have an impact at all on the amount of fish that gets caught by guided anglers. All it will do is consolidate the demand on fewer boats."

In addition, there is the possibility the rule may increase pressure on other species and may result in creative efforts by displaced business owners to sidestep the rule, such as lodges offering guests the use of skiffs and gear to do non-guided halibut fishing.

"For somebody to get around it, especially someone without a permit, it will encourage them to see alternate means," Murphy said. "If somebody is skirting the rules, they'll be scrutinized. If they're prosecuted, it's a federal offense and big trouble if convicted."

One captain who won't qualify is Kent Haina of Homer. Having begun his charter business in 2006, Haina knows he will not qualify. However, anticipating the rule, Haina has been expanding his business to become Poi Boy Fishing and Wilderness Lodge, including wildlife and natural history tours and sea kayaking. He is currently at a trade show in Texas and scheduled to participate in "Destinations: The Holiday and Travel Show" in London in the near future.

"I've been trying to transform my business away from fishing, trying to stay ahead of the curve," Haina said by phone from Texas. "I heard a statistic that 90 percent of people coming to Alaska don't even go fishing. They come for the natural beauty. I can offer sea kayaking, birding and whale watching and not even worry about the fishing part. I can outsource that."

It is the rule's impact on new businesses that concerns Ron Hurley of In 2 Fishing Charters in Homer.

"My main objection is that it limits somebody else who wants to try and get into business," said Hurley, who has operated his charter business for eight years. "Say, right now there's some guy came up from the Lower 48, worked four-five years as a deckhand, really loved it and wanted to make a go of it, if he didn't have a whole lot of money (to purchase a permit), he'll not be able to get into the business. It's likely going to make it very, very difficult to get into it."

NOAA Fisheries put the regulations in place after the North Pacific Fishery Management Council passed the program in March 2007. The regulations came about in response to competition by commercial and sport halibut fishermen for a limited harvest.

"The guided sport charter halibut sector in these areas has been growing steadily and exceeding harvest levels set to protect the halibut population," said Doug Mecum, acting regional administrator for NOAA Fisheries, Alaska. "This new program adds incentive for fishermen to conserve the halibut population over time."

Ron Van Saun, 18-year charter owner-operator of Van San Charters in Ninilchik and president of Deep Creek Charter Association, said there is a good side to the rule.

"People need to understand this is an important measure that needed to happen to help us from getting to a one-fish-per-person limit," he said, referring to the one-halibut-per-day limit in Southeast Alaska. "If this doesn't happen right now, we'll be likely looking at that in the near future, but if we can downsize the number of charters and the take, we should be right where we should be and shouldn't face the threat of cutting our limit in half."

Murphy also saw a positive side to the rule.

"In general, there seems to be a lot of apathy amongst people in the guided recreational charter business. They don't pay a lot of attention to what's going on until it affects them," he said. "This will affect some people who haven't been involved in the process. Maybe now they'll get involved."

For charter operators not meeting the rule's qualifications for a permit, an appeals process is in place, according to Murphy. It will follow the 60-day application period, scheduled to begin in February. The goal is to have all permits and appeals issued by the time the rule goes into effect in February 2011.

From the commercial fishing perspective, halibut fisherman Don Lane also saw a good side to the rule.

"This is another tool to help stop the decline and help the halibut recover," Lane said.

Ward supported a controversial proposal in 1993 to go to a halibut quota system for charter captains similar to the commercial fishing systems of individual fishing quotas. Captains would receive or purchase IFQs to fish so many pounds a season. Ward said he thinks the limited access program could be a step to something like that.

"We still have to find the answer," Ward said. "The limitation plan is not the answer. It's a step."

Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong.@homernews.com. McKibben Jackinsky can be reached at mckibben.jackinsky.@homernews.com.