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
Demersal fish benthic fish are denser, with negative buoyancy so they can lie on the bottom without any effort. Most demersal fish are benthopelagic. As with other bottom feeders, a mechanism to deal with substrate is often necessary. With demersal fish the sand is usually pumped out of the mouth through the gill slit. Most demersal fish exhibit a flat ventral region so as to more easily rest their body on the substrate. The exception may be the flatfish, which are laterally depressed but lie on their sides. Also, many exhibit what is termed an "inferior" mouth, which means that the mouth