Pacific Halibut Season Is Back!
If you’re looking to spot a Pacific Halibut in the wild, you’d have to keep a keen eye on the ocean floor to find this diamond in the rough. And the Pacific Halibut surely has two eyes on you!
With a face that only a mother could love, The Pacific Halibut’s unique appearance is matched by its uniquely delightful flavor. Luckily for us, Pacific Halibut is back in season, and you can try it now at Water Grill.
About The Pacific Halibut
The Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) is the world's largest species of flatfish. This species of right-eyed flounder can weigh up to 500 pounds and grow as long as 8 feet! Those big ones are lovingly called “barn doors”, whereas smaller ones are referred to as “chickens.”
These massive flatfish are groundfish, meaning they live near the ocean floor and prefer water temperatures around 37 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit. Living near the ocean floor is why they have their unique coloration.
While it’s not likely to betray you, the Pacific Halibut is a particularly two-faced creature. The two sides of this flatfish are composed of a lighter, off-white-colored side on its underside (the side that faces toward the ocean floor) and a darker side on top. The lighter side is meant to look more like the sky from those looking up at it, helping it camouflage into the ocean surface. The greyish-brown darker side has colors that help it blend into the sandy ocean bottom.
Perfectly camouflaged, finding a Pacific Halibut really is finding a diamond in the rough, as its diamond-shaped body is more elongated than most flatfishes, and its caudal fin has a crescent shape to it, which is unique to this particular species of flat fish.
Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder
If you were to find a Pacific Halibut shortly after it was born, you’d easily mistake it for some other type of fish. They’re born swimming upright and without their iconic one-sided eye placement. It’s as they get older that the Pacific Halibut begins to morph into the form we know and love.
By the time a right-eyed flounder reaches six months old, its left eye has made a journey across its skull to situate itself close to its right-sided partner (although about one in 20,000 halibut are left-sided). Now right-eyed and laying flat, the Pacific Halibut can keep an eye out for potential threats and feed on a diet of small fish, crabs, clams, squid and other bottom-dwelling invertebrates.
Pacific Halibut Season and Fishery Management
Typically, the season for catching Pacific Halibut runs from mid-March through early November, closing right before the spawning season begins. The females typically spawn at depths of 300 to 1,500 ft. When we get a hold of Pacific Halibut, it’s wild-caught by longlines or hook-and-line along the coastal waters of Northern California all the way up to Nome, Alaska – though, most of them are caught in the Gulf of Alaska.
Fishing for the Pacific Halibut is regulated by the International Pacific Halibut Commission, NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Fishery Management Council. These agencies set yearly quotas to support a minimum halibut population. The teamwork these agencies have shown in both the United States and Canada has ensured that the Pacific Halibut has not been overfished, but also that its population has seen growth since 2013. Today, nearly 25 million pounds of Pacific Halibut are fished annually.
The commercial fishery for Pacific Halibut began in 1888 off the coast of Vancouver, British Columbia. Due to dwindling stocks of the Atlantic Halibut at the time, along with prime access to railroads for shipping, there was an upsurge in vessels in Canada and Alaska fishing for Pacific Halibut to supply the demand from the East Coast. With the rapid growth of the commercial fishery came a decrease in stocks of this fish, ultimately leading to the first known treaty to be introduced for the conservation of an ocean fishery – the Convention for the Preservation of the Halibut Fishery of the Northern Pacific Ocean in 1923.
Pacific Halibut at Water Grill
At Water Grill, we handpick, cut and exclusively supply the highest quality seafood to our restaurants, leveraging more than 75 years of strong relationships to source from local fishermen and lobstermen.
From off the boats of the local fisherman, around 40 tons of Pacific Halibut passed through King’s Seafood Distribution in 2024, where it is filleted and prepared for our restaurants. We are committed to ensuring the maximum yield of this amazing fish, utilizing all parts in our menu. This includes the tail, collar, fillet, cheeks and even the bones and eyes!
It may come as some surprise to some to see these lesser used parts of a fish on a menu, but parts like the collar and the tail bring out tremendous flavors and contain the most tender and flavorful meat.
Make no mistake, Pacific Halibut is a people and palate pleaser, with a flavor that’s delightfully mild and slightly sweet. It’s a leaner fish, with large white flakes and a firm but tender texture. These flavor characteristics, texture and color come from its sedentary lifestyle, unique diet and relatively cold-water environment where it inhabits.
Depending on availability, we offer several preparations of Pacific Halibut throughout the season at Water Grill, utilizing the whole fish. This includes:
•Pan Seared Halibut entrée with spring peas, fingerlings, braised leeks and lemon velouté
•Pan Roasted Halibut Cheeks appetizer with braised fennel and brown butter lemon sauce
•Miso Marinated Halibut Collar with grilled Okinawan potatoes, pickled bean sprouts and yuzu aioli
•Roasted Halibut Tail tacos with roasted tomato salsa, pickled mango and soft corn tortillas
All this Pacific Halibut talk catch your eye? Check our Water Grill menus for availability and make a reservation today!
Pacific Bluefin Tuna Season Returns for Another Summer
Appreciate the good times while they last. You never really know when the next ones may come. That’s especially true when it comes to Pacific Bluefin Tuna.
Pacific Bluefin Tuna are some of the fastest fish in the ocean. But it’s not their speed that makes them elusive.
As one of the most carefully managed fisheries in the U.S., the annual harvest of Bluefin Tuna is limited to help prevent overfishing and restore populations to target levels. There is a capped amount for the season, and once that number is reached, there can be no more landing of Bluefin Tuna by commercial or recreational fishermen.
Consequently, this remarkable fish has sporadic and limited availability and may not be available from one year to the next.
A Highly Migratory Fish
Pacific Bluefin has the largest geographic range of all tunas. While they mostly live in open water, their fatty flesh gives them the ability to keep their bodies warm, unlike most fish. This is what allows the Pacific Bluefin to live in cooler temperate, tropical and open waters.
Bluefin Tuna spawn in the Western Pacific between central Japan and the northern Philippines from April through August. While some Bluefin end up spending their entire lives in the Western Pacific, some young fish will end up migrating to the Eastern Pacific to feed. Southern California waters provide a pristine environment filled with some of their favorite food – such as market squid and sardines.
Getting from place to place isn’t a problem for this fish, though. With their streamlined bodies and powerful tails, Pacific Bluefin Tuna are some of the fastest fish in the ocean.
At about age one, these fish start to arrive off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. They remain in the Eastern Pacific for a few years before migrating back to the Western Pacific Ocean to spawn, a journey taking as little as 55 days.
Why the Blue Fin?
Pacific Bluefin Tuna can be identified by dark blue dorsal sides. The color doesn’t stop there though. They also have a series of small yellow fins, edged in black, that run from the second dorsal fin to the tail. Their bellies are dotted with silver / gray spots or bands.
When you see a Pacific Bluefin Tuna, you’ll see that it’s built for speed. Compared to other tuna, they have relatively small eyes that are set flush to their body, streamlining their flow through the water. Make no mistake though: even though the eyes are small, they have some of the sharpest vision of any finfish and hunt by sight.
Prized Flavor
Prized for their fatty flesh and often served as maguro or toro in sushi restaurants, Pacific Bluefin Tuna are fished extensively throughout the Pacific.
At Water Grill, our Pacific Bluefin Tuna is locally sourced in the San Diego area. We work directly with local fishermen. Each fish is caught one at a time by hook and line. This helps to reduce by-catch while ensuring great handling and a top-quality product.
We bring in the whole loin of the fish to Water Grill, and cut and prepare it for several dishes that highlight its rich, buttery texture and meaty flavor. These include the Trojan Roll, Tuna Poke, Tuna Toro Tartare and Tuna Crudo along with the Wild Pacific Bluefin Tuna entrée with togarashi. View today's menu to see what's available today!
Cover photo credit: Kate/Unsplas from CA Sea Grant
