The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1951-01-12
HALBUT n is ven E
>, PRIZE FREAK
us 10 AMONG FISH

MOLner nature was IN a prank
ish mood the day she created the
first haliBuG When she was finish.
ed, this poor fish wound up fiat
as a 11anhole cover and with both
eyes on one side of its head!
And, since the iRaiiBut has been
in no position to object, this
amazing transformation has been
going on for centuries. At birth,
the little 'halibutsl look like other
ordinary species, but shortly af-
ter, things begin to happen.
The bodys starts to hatten out
and does a. complete job of it.
Then, the left eye takes a good
look at the right eye and decides
to muscle in on that territory. 6
And, it does just that, for the
soft, cartilagenops bones of the
head twist about to make a path
for the migrating eye. By the time
the halibut is AZ inches long, the
left, eye has firmly planted itself
alongside the right eye. Dtlls
Therefore, it could be said, with
tongue in cheek, that insofar as
the halibut's eyes are concerned
everything turns out all right.
The halibut is sometimes called
Giant Founder or Turbot. Hi
Characteristics
Like other members of the
founder family, the halibut is fiat
and deep. Celebration varies de-
pending on type of ocean bottom
being frequented, but usually the
back is greenish-brown with light
sides and belly.
1t is widely distributed in all
ATTITUDES north of 40 degrees and
found on both Atlantic and Pa
cific coasts and in Arctic Ocean.
1t is strictly a deep-water fish,
preferring depths of 500 to 1000
feet, with sand, gravel or clay
bottoms. Oh " eSGfI1 d K
No authentic records are avail
able, but the. British record is re-
ported to be 1875 pounds, on rod
and reel. Commercial G fishermen
have taken them in this country
as large as 625 pounds. Sweden
reports one weighing 720 pounds.
The best table size is considered
less than 100 pounds and halib,it
weighing 200 to 400 pounds are
not too unusual. z sTS9G9I
AS millions of fish eaters will
attest this is one. of the finest Of
all food fish.
The halibut's diet is mainly 9TH
er fishes such as cod, haddock,
herring, flatfishes, CLAIMS, Holsters,
crabs and mussels.
It is attracted by no fishermen's
lures and still fishing is. the only
way an angler can hope to hook
a halibut. The halibut cannot be
classed as a popular sport fish al
though many are taken by sport
fishermen visiting the Goldfish
banks in the Atlantic. However, it
is one of the really great fish of
the world because of it's size and
commoAsiNl Importance. Because
of the heavy pressure exerted by
commercial fishermen, an Interna-
tional Fisheries Commission was
set up in 1924 by the United
States and Great Britain and pro-
tective regulations were imposed
to prevent drastic thinning out of
this fish.
Popular MiscOnceptien
The fact that halibut usually
appear in retail markets with
heads and entrails removed has
led to d number of erroneous
,statments as to why this is done.
Actually, the head is removed
since it makes up about l436 of
the fish's total weight and this
makes for a great saving in space
and cost Of transportation. Also,
the cheeks are collected and bring
a higher price than the body. The
entrails are removed so that the
body cavity can be packed with ice
to insure better preservation and
top market price. Some 80 mil
lion hounds Of halibut are caught
each year, making a sizable in