Three species of large flatfish of the North Atlantic, North Pacific and Arctic: the Atlantic, Pacific and Greenland halibut. The Atlantic and Pacific halibut are the world's biggest flatfish. They live on or near the seabed, dark brown on top and white underneath.
Quick answers
What is it?Fish
Carnivore?Yes
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Day & night
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?Yes
Highly regarded as a food fish, but the Atlantic halibut is so overfished that Seafood Watch advises avoiding it.
At a glance
Found inOceans, Arctic
HabitatOpen ocean, Polar
ColoursBrown, White
SizeHuge
LengthAtlantic up to 4.7 m; Pacific over 2.4 m
WeightAtlantic up to 320 kg; Pacific females up to 230 kg
LegsNone
Covered inSkin
Lives alone
Lives for25–55 years
Can swim
Lays eggs
In the wild
- Where it lives
- The North Atlantic (Labrador and Greenland to the Barents Sea, Biscay and Virginia), the North Pacific and Bering Sea, and the Arctic Ocean.
- What it eats
- Almost any fish or animal it can fit in its mouth: sand lance, octopus, crabs, salmon, cod, pollock, herring and other halibut.
Did you know
Born upright, then one eye migrates across its skull so it can lie flat on the seabed.
Its scales are so small they cannot be seen with the naked eye.
Halibut do not breed until about eight years old, and an Atlantic halibut can live to 50.
Often confused with
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