Atlantic Halibut

Atlantic halibut is the largest member of flatfish family, with its eyes on its greyish side and a white blind side. Juveniles are found along the coast of Norway in relatively shallow waters, whereas full-grown Atlantic halibut usually stay at depths of 300 to 2000 metres. Atlantic halibut spawn at depths of 300 to 700 metres in deep hollows in the banks off the coast or in the fjords. In addition to the coast of Norway, Atlantic halibut also spawn off the Faroe Islands, along the ridge that runs between Greenland, Iceland and Scotland, in the Denmark Strait, in the Davis Strait and on the banks off Newfoundland. Atlantic halibut is extremely vulnerable to overfishing – it is territorial, grows very slow and matures late. In addition to minimum size limits and net mesh restrictions, fishing for Atlantic halibut using nets, trawl nets, Danish seine nets and other fixed equipment is prohibited between 20 December and 31 March. After many years of research and development work, the Atlantic halibut has been established as a farmed species.