HALIBUT. 



415 



at midnight for tlie lishing-grouiid in order to re;icli 

 it ill tlic laoTiiiiig. It' tilt' wcatlier is f';i\i)iiral)le, tlic 

 canoes are qnite laden witli tisli after a lialf-day's iisli- 

 ing, and return home If the sea grows too rough 

 during the homeward voyage, tlie Indians fasten large, 

 inflated sealskins to tlie sides of the canoe in order to 

 increase its buoj'ancy. The hairy side of these skins 

 is turned inward, and on the skinny side, which is 

 turned outward, rude devices are painted, representing 

 the sinking of a canoe, the capture of a huge fish etc. 

 To get so large a fish as the Halihut into a canoe out 

 at sea, is no easy task. Accidents, however, rarely 

 happen, and it is only seldom tliat the fisli gets away 

 after being Iiooked. All goes to show that the vora- 

 city of the Ha]il)ut makes up for the rudeness of the 

 tackle ". 



According to G. v. Yhlen's notes'', during the 

 year 1879 .58,197 lbs. of Halibut were brought to 

 Gothenburg Fish-market, and sold at a price varying 

 between 2'\id. and 4' , d. per 11). Nearly half this 

 quantity was brought in in January, and the greater 

 part of the rest in April, May, and March. Prices ^vere 

 highest in February and lowest in June. This appar- 

 ently shows that the Halilnit is liest in winter and 



these observations, the spawning-season of the Halibut 

 oil the coast of Bohusliln lasts from ihe end of Fe])ru- 

 ary to tlie end of April. In Iceland, according to in- 

 formation gained by Fabek from the fishermen, the 

 Halibut sjiawns from June to August. This agrees 

 with most of the reports (Brown-Gooue, 1. c.) of the 

 spawning-seaisoii on the east coast of North America, 

 where it seems, however, to last at least to Septeinl)er, 

 and, according to some, to Ix'gin as early as January, 

 and thus to occupy the greater part of the year. In 

 all ])robability the Halibut generally approaches com- 

 paratively shallow places to spawn, perhaps even the 

 mouths of rivers; but nothing further is known of its 

 spawning, nor have we any information of the develop- 

 ment of tlie eggs. 



There is extreme difference of o])iiiioii as to the 

 qualities of the Halibut as an article of food. It is, 

 no dcnibt, true tliat large Halibuts, especially after the 

 spawning-season, are dry and lean; but smaller speci- 

 mens, between 10 and -30 kgm. in weight, in winter 

 at least are of delicious flavour, and have the advantage 

 over man)' other dainties that they keep comparatively 

 long. A Halibut hung in the open air during winter 

 will keep fresh long enough to allow a small family to 



worst in summer, a conclusion to wliich ^ve are also use it according to their daily requirements. The best 



led by our present knowledge of its spawning in Bo- 

 huslan. On the 26th of April, 1856, Malm saw on 

 Kilringo a Halibut 131 lbs. in weigiit, \\itli running 

 roe, the total weight of which was 8' ^ lbs. In the 

 same season he examined several other Halibuts brought 

 to the fishing-village, evidently just after they had 

 finished spawning, and several males, 3" ^ — 6',/2 lbs. in 

 weight, that were either just spent, or so ready to 

 spawn that the milt flowed out on slight pressure of 

 the belly. Another female, which he examined on the 

 21st of Januarv, 187;-5, 22 dcm. long and 136 kgm. in 

 weight, had ovaries that weighed 16*'- kgm. — Malm 

 estimated the number of the eggs at three million and 

 a lialf' - — and, to all appearances, would not have been 

 ripe for 4 or 5 weeks to come. Tims, according to 



and fattest portions are the head, especially the tongue 

 and the hyoid region, and the bases of the dorsal and 

 anal fins with the flesh round the interspinal and iii- 

 terhajinal bones. In Sweden the Halibut is eaten only 

 when fresh — boiled or fried — lint in Norway it is 

 also salted. For many years too, it has been prepared 

 in NorwaA' in a manner that i-eminds us of the curing 

 of stockfish. The flesh is cut into slices 2 inches broad, 

 which are scored lengthways and across, and then hung 

 U]) to dry. After some days they are ready for eating 

 without an}' further preparation. The flesli of the 

 Halibut when preserved in this manner is known as 

 rav (raff) and rdkUng''. 



The Swedish name of the Halibut is written, pro- 

 nounced, and exjilained in ditt'erent ways. The Ice- 



" Cf. also ESCHSCHOLTZ on the ILolihut-fishery in Norfolk Somid, see Richardsox, Fii. Boi: Amei:, part. Ill, p. 256. 



'' Internationale Fiscliereiausstellung zii Berlin 1880, Schwed. Cat., I: Notizen iiber die Schwedisclien Fischereien, 2; Tab. 1. 



'- Brow.n'-Goode (1. c.) estimates the number of the eggs in a Halibut about 90 kgm. in weight at 2,182,773. This specimen, 

 in whicli the eggs were partially ripe, was cauglit in September at a depth of 200 fathoms, in water of a temperature of about 36° Fahr. 



•' "The broad strips that are cut along the sides next to the back, are called Skaare-Rav or ^ikaare-Qveite, because they are scored 

 or slit across seveial times in order that they may dry more quickly. The long and narrow strips cut along the sides by the fins, where 

 the Halibut is fattest, and afterwards dried, are known by the name of RtMinrj. It is strictly the dorsal and anal fins, which are now 

 left, but are also dried, that are called Rav." Strom, 1. c. 



