That’s the question many anglers continue to ask. In simple terms, there’s more small halibut in the biomass. Combine that with the fact that commercial halibut longliners have a minimum size of 32 inches. This leaves more small halibut for the sport fishing sector.

According to Ian Stewart, Ph.D., a Quantitative Scientist for the International Pacific Halibut Commission, Pacific halibut growth is highly variable, both between males and females and within each as well as across different areas. The graph below shows the variability from fish we capture on our standardized survey (females in red, males in blue.)

The halibut most anglers are catching in the Strait this season range in size from 28 to 32 inches. Aging halibut by length/size is very difficult because males grow much slower than females. For instance, a 40-inch male halibut could be 18 to 20 years old while a female of the same size could be as young as six or seven years old. The only true way to age a Pacific halibut is to count the growth rings on their otolith, a small ivory-like ear bone in the halibut’s inner ear.

“Given the spread, these fish could be from cohorts born between 2014 to 2020,” explains Stewart. “We have seen some evidence in trawl surveys and recreational catches in Alaska of one or more-year classes between 2016 and 2018, so that would be my guess at present but the survey data from this year will likely help discern which of these is the largest.”

Stewart says the largest year class of halibut in the water now were born in 2012. He also says it is normal to see younger fish on average in Washington than elsewhere across the stock. He also says these halibut are highly migratory, so little is known where specific halibut in our 2A managed area were born. The International Halibut Pacific Commission manages the West Coast by area. Area 2A runs from California to Washington.

Is my halibut a male or female?

Halibut have gonads and are found at the bottom of their gut cavity. Female halibut have triangle ovaries with hollow light pink tinted sacs. The male halibut’s testes are gray and rubbery. So next time you fillet a halibut remember this and try to identify the halibut’s gender.

For more information about Pacific halibut data sets explore this link.