274 FLATFISHES 



mottled in imitation of the sandy bottom on which it hves, 

 that when at rest on the floor of the ocean or aquarium the 

 fish is almost invisible. On the other hand, the under side 

 of the fish is white, or cream color, in order that to enemies 

 below it, looking upward, it will match the light of the upper 

 world. 



As food fishes, the majority of the Flatfishes are very 

 desirable. Their flesh is excellent, and their bones are few 

 and far between. The flesh of the halibut is very white and 

 firm, and, whether fresh or smoked, it is highly palatable. 



The common flounders are so well known they require no 

 special notice. The species most common on our coast is 

 the Winter Flounder,^ which is caught in great numbers, 

 and of all our Flatfishes is next in value to the great halibut. 

 It is a small species, with an average weight of about 3 pounds, 

 and a maximum of 5 pounds, or thereabouts. It has been 

 extensively propagated by the United States Bureau of 

 Fisheries. 



The Common Halibut^ is a cold-water fish of com- 

 manding importance. It is widely dispersed throughout 

 both the North Atlantic, North Pacific and circumpolar 

 waters, not only in shallow waters and the offshore banks, 

 but also on the sides of the sea-bottom slopes down to 1,500 

 feet. In the Atlantic, fishermen say, the species stops at 

 the latitude of the Delaware River. The fisheries along the 

 west coast of Greenland are so important that regularly every 

 year a number of schooners from Connecticut and Massa- 

 chusetts go north, sometimes beyond the Arctic Circle, and 



' Pseu'do-pleu'ro-nec'tes americanus. ^ Hip-po-glos'siis hip-po-glos'sus. 



