![]() ![]() The counter-migration continues until the fish is large enough to be caught in the commercial fishery.Within a year or two of settlement, the juvenile halibut begins to counter-migrate ( travel in the opposite direction to the currents that carried it as an egg or larva), and starts moving from nearshore areas to the continental shelf habitats. ![]() At about six months, the young halibut then settles at the bottom of the ocean in shallow inshore areas and feeds on small fish and shrimp-like organisms.During this stage, the halibut’s fins and internal organs start to develop, and the left eye slowly moves over the top of the head to the right side of the fish. Once the nutrients in the yolk sac are used up, the young halibut becomes a postlarva floating along the surface of the water and feeding on plankton.The larva drifts slowly upward in the water column travelling great distances with the ocean currents in a counter-clockwise direction in the Gulf of Alaska using its yolk sac for food.Each fertilized halibut egg, or embryo, floats through the water and after about 10 to 20 days hatches into a larva.Female wild Pacific halibut are usually 10 to 12 years old when they spawn and males are usually about eight when they reach sexual maturity. Wild Pacific halibut spawn in deep water where females will lay between 500,000 to 4 million eggs depending on their size.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |