ONE great Northwest fishery has revelled in good fortune: halibut.

Fishermen have seen a steady rise in prices since 1996, when the free-for-all fishery was dramatically converted to IFQs. Eight months into the fishing season, the Alaska IFQ fleet has landed roughly 59 million lb. of halibut and still averaged $2.40/lb. , which is more than double the price of six years ago.

That's a testament to America's taste for fresh halibut, which was a rare product before IFQs. Then, the fleet numbered more than 6000 longliners - twice the current fleet - and quarterly fishing periods often lasted just 24 hours in a pell-mell derby.

The halibut resource has been exceptional as well.

The International Pacific Halibut Commission, a 78-year-old US/Canadian organisation, established the 2001 coastwide quota at 73,180,000 lb. , marking the third time in the previous four years that the quota has exceeded 70 million lb.

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Prices double as halibut booms