126 FISH. 



THE HALIBUT. 



Hippofflossus vulgaris, Cuvier. 

 Pleuronecies Hippoglossus, Linna?us. 



This coarse fish is one of the largest species of 

 the Pleuronectidae, and is generally taken in the 

 northern fisheries by hooks and lines. They are 

 eaten both in the fresh and dried state, for which 

 purpose the flesh is cut into long slips, and hung 

 in the air. A very great quantity of oil is ob- 

 tained from them by the inhabitants of the Shet- 

 land and Orkney Isles, who fish for them in slack 

 water, and in the eddies around the islands, out 

 of the races of the tides. 



Halibuts weighing five hundred pounds have 

 been caught in the North Sea, and some of very 

 large size are caught off our own coasts. One 

 was caught off the Isle of Man in April, 1828, 

 which was seven feet six long, three feet six broad, 

 and weighing three hundred and twenty pounds : 

 it was considered the largest ever seen in Edin- 

 burgh, where it was sent ; they feed close to the 

 ground, devouring Crustacea and small fiat-fish. 



