Home of the Halibut

The Pacific halibut is widely dispersed throughout the North Pacific.  It is commonly found along the West coast of North America from California to Alaska.  The fish flourish in the Bearing Sea, which connects Alaska to Russia.  They are also found off the East coast of Kamchatka (extending down from where the Bering Sea meets Russia), in the Okhotsk Sea, and along the northern coasts of Japan.

These fish carry on extensive migration patterns in a clockwise direction between the deep ocean and their native coastlines, depending on breeding times.  They are found in deeper waters during the winter time to breed and in shallower, coastal waters during the summer.  The younger adults, ages eight to twelve, exhibit significantly greater migration distances than their older relatives. 

Whether the halibut is in the deep sea during the winter or the shallower waters during the summer, it spends most of its time lying on a clay, sand, or gravel sea floor.  It prefers these types of bottoms because its body most easily blends in with them, allowing the halibut to camouflage itself.