Halibut

The common ancestor of all three diverged from a lineage that gave rise to the genus Verasper, comprising the spotted halibut and barfin flounder.

[6][7][8] Halibut are dark brown on the top side with a white to off-white underbelly and have very small scales invisible to the naked eye embedded in their skin.

The North Pacific commercial halibut fishery dates to the late 19th century and today is one of the region's largest and most lucrative.

In Canadian and US waters, long-line fishing 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.

Halibut do not reproduce until age eight, when about 80 cm (30 in) long, so commercial capture below this length prevents breeding and is against US and Canadian regulations supporting sustainability.

The approach limited fresh halibut to the markets to several weeks per year when the gluts would push down the price received by fishermen.

[citation needed] In 1995, US regulators allocated individual fishing quotas (IFQs) to existing fishery participants based on each vessel's documented historical catch.

The IFQ system improved both safety and product quality by providing a stable flow of fresh halibut to the marketplace.

The fisheries were managed through a treaty between the United States and Canada per recommendations of the International Pacific Halibut Commission, formed in 1923.

A significant sport fishery in Alaska and British Columbia has emerged, where halibut are prized game and food fish.

In both commercial and sport fisheries, standard procedure is to shoot or otherwise subdue very large halibut over 70–90 kg (150–200 lb) before landing them.

[citation needed] The Atlantic halibut has been a major target of fishing since the 1840s with overfishing causing the depletion of the species in the Georges Bank in 1850, then all the way up to the Canadian Arctic in 1866.

[20] In the North Atlantic, observation of migration indicates that there are only two major populations of Greenland halibut that both stretch vast distances.

[16] The Pacific halibut population remains largely genetically homologous throughout their range, but there is some variation of life-history traits on a geographic gradient.

Raw Pacific or Atlantic halibut meat is 80% water and 19% protein, with negligible fat and no carbohydrates (table).

[25] Halibut yield large fillets from both sides of the fish, with the small round cheeks providing an additional source of meat.

Halibut have historically been an important food source to Alaska Natives and Canadian First Nations, and continue to be a key element to many coastal subsistence economies.

[citation needed] In 2012, sport fishermen in Cook Inlet reported increased instances of a condition known as "mushy halibut syndrome".