Download Our App

Sign Up for E-news
Seafood Watch
Home Seafood
Recommendations Seafood
Search Pocket
Guides Mobile
Guides Sushi Seafood &
Your Health Chart of
Alternatives

Seafood Search

A-N
O-Z

Abalone
Alfonsino
Arctic Char
Barramundi
Basa
Black Drum
Black Sea Bass
Bluefish
Bluenose
Capelin
Catfish
Caviar
Chilean Seabass
Clams
Cobia
Cod
Conch
Corvina
Crab
Crayfish
Croaker
Dab
Eel
European Sea Bass
Flounder
Gilthead Sea Bream
Greater Amberjack
Grenadier
Grouper
Haddock
Hake
Halibut
Herring
Imitation Crab
Lingcod
Lobster
Mackerel
Mahi Mahi
Marlin
Monkfish
Mullet
Mussels

A-N
O-Z

Seafood Watch - Seafood Guide

Pacific Halibut

© Scandinavian Fishing Yearbook/www.scandfish.com
SEAFOODRATINGMARKET NAMESWHERE CAUGHTHOW CAUGHT
Atlantic Halibut Avoid: Avoid these products for now. These fish come from sources that are overfished or fished or farmed in ways that harm the environment. Halibut U.S. Atlantic Bottom Trawl
Atlantic Halibut Good Alternative: These are good alternatives to the best choices column. There are some concerns with how they are fished or farmed – or with the health of their habitats due to other human impacts. Halibut Nova Scotia, Canada Farmed in Tank Systems
California Halibut Good Alternative: These are good alternatives to the best choices column. There are some concerns with how they are fished or farmed – or with the health of their habitats due to other human impacts. Chicken Halibut, Monterey Halibut, Southern Halibut, Hirame U.S. Pacific Hook-and-line, Bottom Trawl
California Halibut Avoid: Avoid these products for now. These fish come from sources that are overfished or fished or farmed in ways that harm the environment. Chicken Halibut, Monterey Halibut, Southern Halibut, Hirame U.S. Pacific Set Gillnet
Greenland Turbot Good Alternative: These are good alternatives to the best choices column. There are some concerns with how they are fished or farmed – or with the health of their habitats due to other human impacts. Greenland Halibut, Hirame U.S., Canadian Pacific Wild-caught
Pacific Halibut Best Choice: These fish are abundant, well managed and fished or farmed in environmentally friendly ways. Alaskan Halibut U.S. Pacific Wild-caught


Pacific Halibut

Most Pacific halibut is caught with bottom longlines that cause little habitat damage and have low levels of accidental catch.

The Pacific halibut fisheries of Alaska, British Columbia and Washington are certified as sustainable to the standard of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

Summary

Pacific halibut is a bottom-dwelling groundfish that nestles into the sandy seafloor, often seen with only its eyes and mouth uncovered. Primarily found in the coastal North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea, it migrates hundreds of miles from shallow coastal waters to the deep, open ocean to spawn in winter. Most return, year after year, to the same coastal feeding grounds

Most Pacific halibut are caught in Alaska where fishing for Pacific halibut is strictly limited to the bottom longlining method, which causes little habitat damage or bycatch. Pacific halibut is also caught using troll lines and bottom trawl nets.

The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) manages Pacific halibut in Alaska. Each year, the IPHC conducts a population assessment and reviews independent assessments to set annual catch limits. These limits are allocated among licensed fishing vessels, giving each boat a prescribed percentage of the total. This process has resulted in longer fishing seasons, while keeping the population healthy and abundant. As a result, we recommend Pacific halibut from the U.S. as a "Best Choice."

Scientific Reports About Our Ratings
Seafood Watch Card Print a pocket-size Seafood Watch guide to take with you.
Download a guide now
Mobile phone users log on to mobile.seafoodwatch.org.

iPhone® and iPod touch® users, you can get the most up-to-date Seafood Watch recommendations on your iPhone or iPod touch.

How fish are caught or farmed makes a difference.
Learn more
 Fishing boat