International Pacific Halibut Convention

Abstract

The Pacific halibut, Hippoglossus stenolepis, is a right handed or dextral flounder, with both eyes on the right side. About 1 in 25,000 is left handed. “Holybut” was used as far back as the 13th century. It was derived from the word “halybutte,” which means the flatfish (butte) that was to be eaten on holy (haly) days. Its distribution in the Pacific and the Atlantic, where a closely related species, Hippoglossus hippoglossus, exists, tends to lie between 37° and 46° F (3° to 8° C). In the Pacific it has been taken from Santa Rosa Island off Los Angeles, California in the south, to as far north as Norton Sound, in the Bering Sea, then across the continental shelf in the Bering Sea to the Gulf of Anadyr and an additional 2,000 miles south to Hokkaido, in Japan. Commercial setline catches in the North Pacific have been made as deep as 600 fathoms (1,100 meters), but most are taken between 15 and 150 fathoms.