Alaska Halibut

The Alaska halibut is a flatfish that lives in salt water. Halibut have both eyes on their dark or upper side. The color on the upper side varies but tends to be similar to that of the ocean bottom. The underside is lighter, almost white in color. This coloring allows halibut to avoid detection by both prey and predator.

Spawning takes place during the winter months with peak activity occurring from December through February. Most spawning takes place off the edge of the continental shelf in deep waters of 200 to 300 fathoms. Male halibut become sexually mature at 7 or 8 years of age, and females attain sexual maturity at 8 to 12 years. Females lay two to three million eggs annually, depending on the size of the fish.

Fertilized eggs hatch after about fifteen days. Free floating eggs float for up to six months and are transported up to several hundred miles by currents of the North Pacific and are carried to shallower waters by the currents. In these shallower waters, young halibut then begin life as bottom dwellers for roughly five to seven years in the Bering Sea.

Halibut live quite a long time but their growth rate varies depending on locations and habitat conditions. Females grow faster and live longer than males. Females can live up to around 40 years while the males top out around 20 – 25 years. Halibut are the largest of all flatfish.

Sport fishing for Alaska halibut is a very popular activity, with the most popular areas being Kachemak Bay, Southeast Alaska, the Kodiak area, and near the mouth of Deep Creek in Lower Cook Inlet.

The halibut taken by sport anglers are generally 15 to 20 pounds in weight but fish over 150 pounds are frequently caught. The current Alaska state record for a sport-caught halibut is 450 pounds, and a fish must weigh at least 200 pounds to qualify for the state’s trophy fish program. The most common halibut bait is frozen herring, octopus, or other fresh fish. The interest in these delicious fish is increasing each year. In Southeast Alaska halibut are second only to king salmon in sport angler preference.

Nutritional Information: One ½ lb. fillet of Alaska Halibut has 224.4 calories, 42.4 grams of protein, 4.6 grams of fat, 0.6 grams of saturated fat and 110.1 milligrams of sodium.
Note: Nutritional information provided by Ed's Kasilof Seafoods at http://www.kasilofseafoods.com.