Fish
Greenland halibut
Reinhardtius hippoglossoides
(VI) Rockall and West of Scotland, (XIV) East Greenland
Zones de pêche
Wild
Origine
64 cm
Taille minimale
Description
Unlike most flatfish, the black halibut is not perfectly asymmetrical. Its left eye has not shifted completely to the right side; it is located on the upper edge of the skull (the crest), which gives it a wider field of vision. It is elongated and thicker than that of the flounder or the yellowtail flounder. Its mouth is large and equipped with sharp, strong teeth. Both sides (right and left) are colored, which is rare among flatfish (where the blind side is normally white). Its skin is dark brown, grayish, or nearly black, with bluish sheen. It is a large predator. It can reach a maximum length of 1.20 meters and weigh over 45 kg, although the average size caught is about 80 cm.
Habitat
It is a bathydemersal fish (living near the seafloor at great depths). Although it is a flatfish, it spends a lot of time swimming "on its side" in open water (pelagic mode) to hunt for prey. It is generally found between 200 and 1,600 meters, but has been observed at depths of over 2,000 meters. It lives in very cold waters, where temperatures typically range from -1°C to 4°C. It is a voracious hunter that feeds on fish (cod, redfish), squid, and crustaceans (northern shrimp).
Distribution
It has a circumpolar distribution in the Northern Hemisphere (the North Atlantic and North Pacific). It is found from New Jersey (USA) to Greenland, Iceland, Spitsbergen, and as far as the Barents Sea and southern Norway. It is present from the Sea of Japan to the Bering Sea, and extends south to the coasts of California and Mexico (Baja California).