Pacific Halibut Facts:
General description: Halibut are more elongated than most flatfish, the width about one-
third the length. Both eyes are on their dark or upper side. The color on the dark side
varies but tends to look like the color of the ocean bottom. The underside is white,
appearing more like the sky from below. This color allows halibut to avoid detection by
both prey and predator.
Life history: Halibut spawn during the winter months with the peak of commotion occurring
from December through February. Majority of spawning takes place off the border of the
continental shelf in deep waters of 200 to 300 fathoms. Males become sexually mature at
7 or 8 years of age, and females are sexual maturity at 8 to 12 years. Females lay two to
three million eggs once a year, depending on the size of the fish. Fertilized eggs hatch
after around fifteen days. Free-floating eggs and larvae float for around 5 to 6 months
and are transported up to several hundred miles by ocean current of the North Pacific.
During the free-floating stage, an abundant of changes takes place in the young halibut,
including migration of the left eye to the top of the fish. During this time the young halibut
get pushed up to the surface and are carried to shallower waters by currents. In the
shallow waters, young halibut then begin life as bottom dwellers. Most young halibut
ultimately spend from five to seven years shallow nursery grounds until they reach age.
Halibut live a long time, but their growth rate varies depending on habitat conditions.
Female halibut grow faster and live longer than males. The oldest female caught was 42
years old and the oldest male was 27 years old. Halibut are by far largest of all flatfish.
The largest ever recorded was a 495-pound fish caught near Petersburg, Alaska.
Food habits: Being very strong swimmers, halibut are able to eat a variety of fish (cod,
turbot, pollock) plus some other sea creatures such as crab and shrimp. Occasionally
halibut leave the ocean bottom to feed on pelagic fish such as sand lance and herring.
Sport fishing: Sport fishing for halibut in Alaska is a very popular fishery, with around 65
percent of the effort and harvest occurring in Southeast Alaska, the Kodiak area, and
close to the mouth of Deep Creek in Lower Cook Inlet.
The halibut caught by sport anglers are generally 15 to 20 pounds in weight; however,
fish over 150 pounds are caught daily. The current Alaska state record for a sport fishing
caught halibut is 450 pounds, and a halibut must weigh at least 200 pounds to qualify for
the state’s trophy fish record program. Anglers use strong saltwater fishing gear to
harvest over 1.5 million pounds of halibut a year. People are fishing for halibut more and
more each year. In Southeast Alaska halibut are second only to king salmon in sport
fishing preference.
Work Cited
Bethers Mike, “Alaska Department of Fish and Game.” Pacific Halibut. 1994. http://www.
adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/fish/halibut.php
Summarized by: Nate Morris
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