International Pacific Halibut Commission International Pacific Halibut Commission The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) is an International Fisheries Organization, having Canada and the United States as its members, responsible for the management of stocks of Pacific halibut or "Hippoglossus stenolepis" within the Pacific waters of its member states. It was founded in 1923 by an international treaty. The original treaty has been revised three times (1953,1976,1979). The 1979 amendment clarified the role of the IPHC in the management of the fishery through the North Pacific Halibut Act of 1982. It has carried out many activities including the use of chartered commercial fishing vessels to
Pelagic fish ocean floor consists of abyssal plains, but these flat, featureless regions are covered with sediment and largely devoid of benthic life (benthos). Deep sea benthic fishes are more likely to associate with canyons or rock outcroppings among the plains, where invertebrate communities are established. Undersea mountains (seamounts) can intercept deep sea currents, and cause productive upwellings which support benthic fish. Undersea mountain ranges can separate underwater regions into different ecosystems. Small pelagic fish are usually forage fish that are hunted by larger pelagic fish and other predators. Forage fish filter feed on plankton and are usually less than 10 centimetres