halibut

Fiorello LaGuardia with a 300-pound halibut at the Fulton Fish Market.

A halibut is a type of flatfish from the family of the righteye flounders (Pleuronectidae). This name is derived from Dutch heilbot. Halibut live in both the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans and are highly regarded food fish.

Physical characteristics

The Halibut is the largest of all flat fish, with an average weight of about 25 lb - 30 lb, but they can grow to be as much as 700 lbs [1]. The Halibut is blackish-grey on the top side and off-white on the underbelly side. When the Halibut is born the eyes are on both sides of its head so it has to swim like a salmon. After about 6 months one eye will migrate to the other side of its head, making it look more like the flounder. This happens at the same time that the stationary eyed side begins to develop a blackish-grey pigment while the other side remains white. This disguises a halibut from above (blending with the ocean floor) and from below (blending into the light from the sky).

Diet

Halibut feed on almost any animal they can fit in their mouths. Animals found in their stomachs include sand lance, octopus, crab, salmon, hermit crabs, lamprey, sculpin, cod, pollock, herring and flounder. Halibut can be found at depths as shallow as a few meters to hundreds of meters deep, and although they spend most of their time near the bottom, halibut will move up in the water column to feed. In most ecosystems the halibut is near the top of the marine food chain. In the North Pacific the only common predators of halibut are the sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), the orca whale (Orcinus orca), and the salmon shark (Lamna ditropis).

Halibut fishery

Commercial halibut fishery in the North Pacific dates to the late 19th century and today is one of the largest and most lucrative fisheries in the region. In Canadian and U.S. waters of the North Pacific, halibut are taken by longline, using chunks of octopus ("devilfish") or other bait on circle hooks attached at regular intervals to a weighted line that can extend for several miles across the bottom. Typically the fishing vessel hauls gear after several hours up to a day has passed.

Careful international management of Pacific halibut is necessary, as the species occupies the waters of the United States, Canada, Russia, and possibly Japan(known to the Japanese as Hirame), and is a slow-maturing fish. Halibut do not reproduce until age eight, when they are approximately 30 inches (76 cm) long, so commercial capture of fish below this length is an unsustainable practice and is against U.S. and Canadian regulations. Halibut fishing in the Pacific is managed by the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC).

For most of its modern duration, commercial halibut fishery operated as a derby-style fishery where regulators declared time slots when fishing was open (typically 24-48 hours at a time) and fisherman raced to catch as many pounds as they could within that window. This approach accommodated unlimited participation in the fishery while allowing regulators to control the quantity of fish caught annually by controlling the number and timing of openings. The approach frequently led to unsafe fishing as openings necessarily set in advance and fisherman felt compelled economically to leave port virtually regardless of the weather. The approach also provided fresh halibut to the markets for only several weeks each year.

In 1995, regulators in the United States implemented a quota-based fishery by allocating individual fishing quotas (IFQs) to existing fishery participants based on each vessel's documented historical catch. IFQs grant holders a specific proportion of each year's total allowable catch (TAC) as determined by regulators and can be fished at any time during the 9-month open season. The IFQ system improved both the safety of the fishery and the quality of the product by providing a stable flow of fresh halibut to the marketplace. Critics of the program suggest that, since IFQs are a saleable commodity and the fish a public resource, the IFQ system gave a public resource to the private sector. Would-be fisherman who were not part of the initial IFQ allocation are also critical of the program saying that the capital costs to fishery entry are now too high.

There is also a significant sport fishery in Alaska and British Columbia where halibut are a prized game and food fish. Sport fisherman use large rods and reels with line weights from 80 to 150 pound test, and often bait with herring, large jigs, or even whole salmon heads. Halibut are very strong, thus in both commercial and sport fisheries large halibut (over 50 to 100 pounds (20 to 50 kg)) are often shot or otherwise subdued before they are brought onto the boat. The sport fishery in Alaska is one of the key elements to the state's summer tourism economy. Halibut are typically broiled, deep fat fried or lightly grilled while fresh. The fillets can also be smoked but this method is more difficult with halibut meat than it is with salmon, due to the ultra-low fat content of halibut. Eaten fresh, the meat has a very clean taste and requires little seasoning. Halibut is also noted for its very dense and firm texture, almost more akin to chicken.

Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) on a Faroese stamp

Halibut have been an important food source to Native Americans and Canadian First Nations for thousands of years and continue to be a key element to many coastal subsistence economies. The management of the halibut resource to accommodate the competing interests of commercial, sport, and subsistence users is a contentious current issue.

The Atlantic Fishery of halibut has been extremely depleted through overfishing to such an extent that it may possibly be declared an endangered species. Almost all halibut now bought on the East coast are now Pacific halibut.

Species commonly known as "halibut"

• Family Carangidae (jack family, not a flatfish)
  • Australian halibut, Parastromateus niger
• Family Paralichthyidae
  • California halibut, Paralichthys californicus
  • Bastard halibut, Paralichthys olivaceus
• Family Pleuronectidae
  • Arrowtooth halibut, Atheresthes evermanni
  • Shotted halibut, Eopsetta grigorjewi
  • Atlantic halibut, Hippoglossus hippoglossus
  • Pacific halibut, Hippoglossus stenolepis
  • Greenland halibut, Reinhardtius hippoglossoides
  • Spotted halibut, Verasper variegatus
• Family Psettodidae
  • Indian halibut

References

• Clover, Charles. 2004. The End of the Line: How overfishing is changing the world and what we eat. Ebury Press, London. ISBN 0-09-189780-7

Cultural references

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

The Monty Python skit "Eric The Half-A-Bee" featured a pet halibut named Eric. Eric was chosen over thousands of halibuts because the other ones were 'all too flat'.

Another Monty Python skit features a family mentioning halibut, calling it "jugged fish." When the husband (played by Eric Idle) asked if there are any fish that aren't jugged, his wife (played by Terry Jones) mentions rabbit fish.

In the Monty Python film "Life of Brian" a character was sentenced to be stoned to death for blasphemy because he exclaimed "that piece of halibut was good enough for Jehovah"

Halibut also had a major role in Rudyard Kipling's famous book Captains Courageous.

Electronic musician Richard D James' recent Analord series features an entire track dedicated to halibut and the squelching sounds of analog acid on a track called "Halibut Acid" off the fourth record in the series.

The cartoon Misterjaw featured a character named Harry Halibut whom Misterjaw loved to pursue for food.

The Norwegian municipality of Tranøy has a halibut in its coat-of-arms.

In Crimson, an episode of Smallville, after realizing they'd just been set up for a date, Lois tells Clark that the two of them together is like "hot fudge and halibut". Clark responds, "Let me guess, I'm the halibut."

In the episode "The Heart Attack" from Seinfeld Series, Jerry funnily deciphers a note he wrote during sleep as "Fax me some halibut."

The Martin/Molloy radio show had a sketch called "Two Fat Bastards" where one of the characters called halibut "the fat bastard of the sea."

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Hippoglossus hippoglossus

• International Pacific Halibut Commission
• Halibut farming manual (in Norwegian)
• Alaska Department of Fish & Game
• California Halibut fishing see: Marina Del Rey Halibut Derby
• Nutrition facts

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