Beginning with the 2026 season, guests fishing for halibut aboard guided charter vessels in Alaska are now required to have a Charter Halibut Stamp for each day they intend to catch and keep halibut.

This is a new federal requirement administered through NOAA Fisheries as part of the Alaska charter halibut management program. The requirement applies to adult anglers age 18 and older fishing aboard charter vessels in International Pacific Halibut Commission Areas 2C and 3A. Raspberry Island and the Kodiak Archipelago fall within Area 3A, so this rule applies to our guided halibut fishing days.

The cost of the stamp is $20 per angler, per day.

For our guests, we will handle this process for you. If your package includes guided halibut fishing, we will add the required $20 per day Charter Halibut Stamp charge to your invoice before arrival. This allows us to purchase and validate the required electronic stamps properly through our Charter Halibut Permit account and ADF&G saltwater logbook before fishing begins each day.

This stamp is not the same as your Alaska sport fishing license. Guests are still responsible for purchasing their required Alaska sport fishing license before fishing. The Charter Halibut Stamp is an additional federal requirement specific to guided charter halibut fishing.

Why is this program in place?

Alaska’s halibut fishery is carefully managed among commercial, guided charter, unguided sport, and subsistence users. In the guided charter sector, annual regulations may include bag limits, size limits, annual limits, or day-of-week closures depending on the year and area.

The Charter Halibut Stamp program helps fund the Recreational Quota Entity, or RQE. The RQE is designed to purchase commercial halibut quota shares and add those pounds to the guided charter allocation. Over time, the intent is to help preserve and improve charter halibut fishing opportunity for anglers, guides, coastal communities, and businesses that depend on a healthy and accessible halibut fishery.

In practical terms, this program is meant to support the long-term stability of guided halibut fishing in Alaska.  

We understand that no one loves seeing a new fee added to a trip. We don’t either. However, this is not a lodge-created fee or optional surcharge. It is a required federal program that applies to charter halibut anglers age 18 and older who intend to retain halibut. As the charter operator, we are responsible for making sure the proper stamps are purchased and validated before fishing gear is deployed.

Our goal is to make this as simple as possible for our guests. By adding the stamp charge to your invoice ahead of time, we can take care of the administrative side before you arrive, keep our fishing days running smoothly, and ensure everyone is properly covered before heading out on the water.

As always, we appreciate your understanding and support of responsible fisheries management. Halibut are one of Alaska’s most iconic fish, and we want future generations of guests to enjoy the same incredible opportunity to fish for them here in the Kodiak Archipelago.