halibut

Halibut in a museum

A halibut is a type of flatfish from the family of the right-eye flounders (Pleuronectidae). This name is derived from haly (holy) and butt (flat fish), for its alleged popularity on Catholic holy-days.^[1] 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 flat fish, with an average weight of 11–13.5 kilograms (24–30 lb), but Halibuts as large as 333 kg (734 lb) have been reported as caught; the largest recently recorded^[2] was 211 kilograms (470 lb) and 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) long.^[3][4]. Halibut are blackish-grey on the top side with an off-white underbelly. When the Halibut is born it has an eye on each side of its head, and it swims like a salmon. After about 6 months one eye migrates to the other side, making it look more like the flounder. At the same time the stationary-eyed side develops a blackish-grey color while the other side remains white. This disguises halibut from above (blending with the ocean floor) and from below (blending into the light from the sky). The Halibut's large size gives it the common title "Cow of the Sea".

Halibut caught off the coast of Raspberry Island, Alaska

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, flounder as well as other halibut. Halibut live at depths ranging from a few meters to hundreds of meters deep, and although they spend most of their time near the bottom, halibut may 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 their only common predators are the sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), the orca (Orcinus orca), and the salmon shark (Lamna ditropis).

Halibut fishery

The North Pacific commercial halibut fishery dates to the late 19th century and today is one of the region's largest and most lucrative fisheries. In Canadian and U.S. waters,longline predominates, 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 retrieves the line after several hours to a day.

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

For most of the modern era, commercial halibut fishery operated as a derby. 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 interval. 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 were necessarily set before the weather was known, forcing fisherman to leave port regardless of the weather. The approach also provided fresh halibut to the markets for only several weeks each year.

Individual fishing quotas

In 1995, U.S. regulators allocated 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). Fishing can occur at any time during the 9-month open season. The IFQ system improved both safety and product quality by providing a stable flow of fresh halibut to the marketplace. Critics of the program suggest that, since quota holders can sell them 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 claim capital (to purchase a quota) costs 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 80–150 pounds (36–68 kg) line, 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 50–100 pounds (23–45 kg) are often shot or otherwise subdued before they are brought onto the boat. Alaska's sport fishery is a key element to the state's summer tourism economy.

As food

Halibut are typically broiled, deep-fried or lightly grilled while fresh. Smoking is more difficult with halibut meat than it is with salmon, due to its ultra-low fat content. Eaten fresh, the meat has a very 'clean' taste and requires little seasoning. Halibut is also noted for its very dense and firm texture, 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. Accommodating the competing interests of commercial, sport, and subsistence users remains a difficult challenge.

The Atlantic fishery has been extremely depleted through overfishing to such an extent that it may be declared an endangered species. According to Seafood Watch, consumers should avoid Atlantic halibut.^[5] Almost all halibut available on the East coast are from the Pacific.

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
• Oxford English Dictionary, second edition, ed. John Simpson and Edmund Weiner, Clarendon Press, 1989, ISBN 0-19-861186-2.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hippoglossus hippoglossus

• International Pacific Halibut Commission
• Alaska Department of Fish & Game

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