Atlantic halibut large flatfishes, including Pacific halibut, "Hippoglossus stenolepis". Due to its popularity as a food fish, Atlantic halibut has attracted investment in fish farming. As of 2006, five countries - Canada, Norway, the UK, Iceland and Chile - were engaged in some form of Atlantic halibut aquaculture production. In 1996, the IUCN rated it as Endangered and placed it on its Red List. The Atlantic halibut is a US National Marine Fisheries Service Species of Concern, one of those species about which the U.S. Government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has some concerns regarding status and threats, but for which insufficient
Pelagic fish ocean floor consists of abyssal plains, but these flat, featureless regions are covered with sediment and largely devoid of benthic life (benthos). Deep sea benthic fishes are more likely to associate with canyons or rock outcroppings among the plains, where invertebrate communities are established. Undersea mountains (seamounts) can intercept deep sea currents, and cause productive upwellings which support benthic fish. Undersea mountain ranges can separate underwater regions into different ecosystems. Small pelagic fish are usually forage fish that are hunted by larger pelagic fish and other predators. Forage fish filter feed on plankton and are usually less than 10 centimetres