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Seafood Watch - Seafood Guide

California Halibut

© Monterey Bay Aquarium
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


California Halibut

California halibut caught by hook-and-line or bottom trawling is a "Good Alternative."

Consumer Note

California halibut is often confused with or marketed as Pacific halibut - a different species currently rated as a "Best Choice." To be certain, ask each time what kind of halibut you may be purchasing, as both are labeled simply as "halibut."

Health Alert

Environmental Defense Fund has issued a health advisory for California halibut due to high levels of mercury.

Summary

California halibut, a bottom-dwelling flatfish found from Baja California to north of San Francisco Bay, is moderately long-lived and popular with recreational and commercial fishermen. Because of its limited range and the loss or degradation of bay and estuary habitats that provide its nurseries, it is vulnerable to overfishing.

Whether consumers should buy or order California halibut depends on the fishing methods used: hook-and-line or bottom trawl-caught is a "Good Alternative."

However, "Avoid" California halibut caught by gillnets, which frequently catch marine mammals and seabirds. Gillnets account for one quarter of the total California halibut catch.

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