Pacific Halibut

Hippoglossus stenolepis

Photograph courtesy of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering To link to their webpage click here.

Aquaculture Potential The Pacific halibut is a highly regulated fishery. Previous attempts to research the aquaculture potential of this species has been discontinued possibly due to pressure from the wild fishery lobby. Pacific halibut are high value species and there is evidence that they could be successfully raised in an aquaculture setting. In fact, some have been able to raise the species until they were sexually mature. The main constraint with culturing this species is gaining support for aquaculture research of the Pacific halibut.

Opportunity Constraints Maintained halibut until sexually mature (21 months) (Thomlison and Baker 1973 in Parker 1988) High value High fecundity: 100,000–2,800,000 per season (Love 1996) The wild fishery lobby has strong support to prevent aquaculture research of this species No lab work rearing juveniles (Parker 1988) Since it is an apex predator it may require an expensive, high protein diet Has been successful in the Atlantic; constraints include getting through the nursery period and the conversion ratio (carnivorous therefore needs more fish meal) Research needed for: Nutritional requirements for brood stock; Identifying the best type of first feed, make prepared feeds for postlarvae; Environmental requirements for larvae, postlarvae, and juveniles (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and tolerancve to nitrite and ammonia).

In-depth Information Regarding this Species

Alternate Common Names	N/A
U.S. Range in the Pacific Ocean	Bering Sea to Southern California (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) Common in Oregon and northward (Love 1996)
Habitat	Young are nearshore (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) Two populations in eastern Pacific Ocean (Love 1996)
Substrate	Rocky, sand, or gravel (Love 1996)
Depth range (meters)	Down to 1097 (adults) (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Behavior	Migratory (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) Benthic, apex predator (Parker 1988)
General Temperature Range (°C)	3–8 (Parker 1988) 2.8–10 (Love 1996)
General Salinity Range (ppt)	N/A
Maximum Overall Recorded Size (cm)	266.7 (Love 1996)
Maximum Recorded Size for Males (cm)	137.2 (Love 1996)
Maximum Recorded Size for Females (cm)	N/A
Average Maximum Overall Length (cm)	76+ Female to 267 (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Average Maximum Overall Length for Males (cm)	N/A
Average Maximum Overall Length for Females (cm)	N/A
Average Maximum weight (kg)	Female 227 (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Average Maximum weight for Males (cm)	N/A
Average Maximum weight for Females (cm)	N/A
Length When Harvested (cm)	81 (minimum) 100–150 (normal range) 120 (average) (Parker 1988)
Weight When Harvested (kg)	2.3–4.5 (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) 4.54–136.2 kg 11.35–13.6 kg (average) (Parker 1988)
Overall Length to Age Ratio (cm/age in years)	15.2/2 61.0/8–11 91.4/11–15 (Love 1996)
Male Length to Age Ratio (cm/age in years)	N/A
Female Length to Age Ratio (cm/age in years)	N/A
Overall Maximum Age (years)	N/A
Maximum Age for Males (years)	27 (Love 1996)
Maximum Age for Females (years)	42 (Love 1996)
Age when Harvested (years)	7–8 2–3 (for females) (Parker 1988) 8–15 (age of most caught in fishery off US coast) (Love 1996)
Overall Growth Rate	Males smaller than females (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) Females grow faster and live longer than males (Love 1996)
Male Growth Rate	N/A
Female Growth Rate	N/A
Overall Age at Maturity (years)	N/A
Male Age at Maturity (years)	5–13 (Love 1996)
Female Age at Maturity (years)	8–16 (Love 1996)
Overall Length at Maturity (cm)	N/A
Male Length at Maturity (cm)	76.2–106.7 (Love 1996)
Female Length at Maturity (cm)	91.4–137.2 (Love 1996)
Maturity/Temperature Relationship	N/A
Type of Reproduction	N/A
Fecundity	740,000 (12 years old) 573,000 (when 120 cm long and off Alaska) (Schmitt and Skud 1978 in Parker 1988) 100,000–2,800,000 per season (Love 1996)
Spawning Habitat	N/A
Spawning Behavior	N/A
Time of Year of Spawning	End of December–End of January (Alaska) (Parker 1988) December–March (Love 1996)
Number of Spawns per season	0.5 (1 time per 2 years off Alaska) (Parker 1988) Several times Female may not spawn every year (Love 1996)
Spawning/Temperature Relationship (°C)	Temperature impacts spawning (Parker 1988)
Spawning/Salinity Relationship	N/A
Description of Eggs	N/A
Habitat where Eggs are found	Deep water (Love 1996)
Days to Hatch	20 (at 5°C) 12.5 (at 8°C) (Forrester and Alderdice 1973 in Parker 1988) 11–23 (Love 1996)
Time of Year when Eggs Hatch	N/A
Temperature for Egg Survival (°C)	3.5–6.5 (normal range off Alaska) 7 (Optimal–best temperature to hatch and hatching efficiency) (Forrester and Alderdice 1973 in Parker 1988) 6.38 (off Alaska–10% survive–more mortality at warmer and cooler temperatures) (Van Cleve and Seymour 1953 in Parker 1988) Dependant Hatched in lab at 6.1–7.8 2.8 or 10 (no hatching) (Love 1996)
Salinity for Egg Survival (ppt)	N/A
Predators on Eggs	N/A
Habitat where Larvae are found	Drift (Love 1996)
Days in Larval Stage	Pelagic phase is 5–7 months (Alaska) (Parker 1988) Up to 210 (Love 1996)
Temperature for Larval Survival (°C)	3.5–4.5 increased development time (Parker 1988) 6 (largest larvae born at this temperature off Alaska (Forrester and Alderdice 1973 in Parker 1988)
Salinity for Larval Survival (ppt)	N/A
Larval Food Preference	Yolk lasts 2–3 months First feeding critical to survival Euphausiids, Copepods, Decapod larvae, Carnivorous Copepods (Parker 1988)
Habitat where Juveniles are found	N/A
Length when Juvenile Settles out (cm)	2.5 (age 6–7 months) (settle to bottom off Alaska) (Parker 1988)
Temperature for Juvenile Survival (°C)	N/A
Salinity for Juvenile Survival (ppt)	N/A
Where and When Juvenile Feeds	N/A
Juvenile Food Preference	N/A
Habitat where Adults are found (depth in meters)	N/A
Temperature for Adult Survival (°C)	N/A
Salinity for Adult Survival (ppt)	N/A
Adult Feeding Type	N/A
Adult Food Preference	When individuals grows past 80 cm they change from eating small Crustaceans to large Crustaceans, Fish, Octopi (Thompson 1916 in Parker 1988) Cannibalism on juveniles by adults (Best and St.Pierre 1986 in Parker 1988) Fish (Pacific Sand Lance, Walleye Pollock), Crab, Octopi (Love 1996)
Food Eaten in Laboratory Setting	Larvae survived 10 days post-hatching, Increased length first 3–4 days, then regressed as yolk was absorbed (Forrester and Alderdice 1973 in Parker 1988)
Amount of Food Eaten in Laboratory Setting	N/A
Additional Laboratory Findings	Get eggs and milt in winter (during normal spawning time) Several thousand eggs can be obtained from females every few days Adults do well in circular fiberglass tanks and salmon net pens (Stickney in Nosho and Freeman 1994)
Environmental Considerations	N/A
Commercial Fishery	Commercial fishery (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) Very large Highly regulated Season sometimes only open for a few days (Love 1996)
Market	"…one of the most valuable luxury food fisheries in North America and usually has a landed value among the top five species (Parker 1988)."
Sold Fresh or Frozen	N/A
Style Species is Sold	N/A
Additional Use of the Species	N/A
Shelf-life in Fresh State (days at 40°F)	N/A
Shelf-life in Frozen State (months at 0°F)	N/A
Shelf-life Canned (months)	N/A
Weight sold in Oregon (kg)	N/A
Ornamental Market	N/A
Parasites or Disease	Fewer parasites in fish off Alaska than most marine fish (Bell 1981 in Parker 1988)
Additional Remarks	Largest flatfish in the world (Parker 1988) Eggs and yolk are sensitive to light (Atlantic halibut) Fed Artemia and natural zooplankton (Atlantic halibut)
Location where Species has been Researched/Farmed	University of Washington began research on halibut and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Pacific Biological Station (Canada) began work on lingcod, halibut, and sablefish but all of the projects were stopped. (Nosho and Freeman 1994). Researchers in B.C. are bringing individuals down from Alaska and growing them out Some work is also being done at Pacific Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Seattle
Appropriate Aquaculture Systems	Young may not be suited for pens; better for tanks Adults do well in circular fiberglass tanks and salmon net pens

Recent Wild Harvest Data for Oregon
Data from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Year	Total Catch (Pounds)	Ex-vessel Value ( U.S. Dollars)
1989	916,024	1,302,466
1990	622,233	915,808
1991	544,446	1,021,787
1992	711,874	827,775
1993	662,687	862,125
1994	539,997	1,014,736
1995	542,916	941,051
1996	310,372	703,703
1997	376,592	695,496
1998	236,566	323,489

Photograph courtesy of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering To link to their webpage click here.

Photo contributed by: Bill Barss Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

© 2003 Stephen Sempier