Halibut Halibut Halibut is a common name principally applied to the two flatfish in the genus "Hippoglossus" from the family of right-eye flounders. Less commonly, and in some regions only, other species of flatfish are also referred to as being halibuts. The word is derived from "haly" (holy) and "butte" (flat fish), for its popularity on Catholic holy days. Halibut are demersal fish and are highly regarded as a food fish. The Pacific halibut is the world's largest flatfish. The IGFA record was apparently broken off the waters of Norway in July 2013 by a 515-pound 8.6 foot fish. This was
Paralichthys adspersus 1842 as "Hippoglossus kingii", which would have placed it in the left-eye flounder family. However, the description of "H. kingii" has been determined to lack sufficient information to absolutely determine which species it describes and is thus considered ambiguous and therefore is not valid. Paralichthys adspersus Paralichthys adspersus, the fine flounder, is a species of large-tooth flounder native to the eastern Pacific Ocean, along the continental shelf from the coast of Ecuador in the north to the coast of Peru in the south. It is a medium-sized flatfish, growing up to 70 cm in length, with females typically being larger