Halibut

Generality

The halibut is a flat fish that can reach considerable dimensions; it is typical of the northern cold seas and its fishing is of fundamental importance for the fish trade economy in various countries. The meat of the halibut is known for its relative leanness and digestibility, but not everyone appreciates the taste (rather delicate). In the Nordic countries, halibut is considered the fish food source for excellence.

The halibut is a fish belonging to the Pleuronectidae family and to the Genus Hippoglossus. There are different species, but the most fished are undoubtedly there hippoglossus (Atlantic Ocean) and the stenolepis (Pacific Ocean). In any case, as often happens in the "vulgar" classification, the shape of the animal can be misleading and misleading the correct classification; in fact, by scrutinizing the various specimens of "halibut" captured all over the world, one realizes that, in fact, not all of them fit the Gender Hippoglossus.
The etymology of the term HALIBUT derives from the union of Anglo-Saxon nouns haly, or better, holy (which means "holy") e butt (which means "flat"). Basically, halibut (halybutt) is a term that translates into "holy flat fish", a clear reference to its shape and to the importance it has in banquets of Catholic religious holidays.

Description

The halibut is the largest of the flatfish discovered so far. The largest halibut officially caught weighed over 230kg, but specimens around the quintal are not so rare.
The color of the halibut is brown on the upper side and white on the lower side, and its skin is totally covered with tiny scales. Over the course of its life, the halibut undergoes an extremely peculiar metamorphosis. The fish is born entirely white and with one eye on each side of the body; not surprisingly, in this period it swims perpendicular to the bottom. From the sixth month of life, one eye migrates towards the opposite side and the halibut becomes more and more similar to the other Pleuronectids (such as the sole); at the same time, the upper side of the body, the one that hosts the migrating eye, darkens and becomes brown while the other remains white. This chromatic distribution allows perfect camouflage both on the bottom (looking at it from above) and in the middle of the water (looking at it from below).
The halibut is a predator that feeds on almost all the animals present in the sea. As a child it captures crustaceans and benthic organisms, while as an adult it devours octopuses, crabs, salmon, hermit crabs, cod, herring, flounder, other halibut etc.
The "halibut" proper "colonizes the entire northern belt of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It lives at depths ranging from a few tens to several hundred meters and, although it spends most of its time lying on the bottom, it is not uncommon for it to move vertically on the water column.
The natural predators of medium to large halibut are: the halibut themselves, killer whales, sea lions and salmon sharks.

Halibut fishing

Being a primary fish resource, the halibut fishery is of great importance on the economy of the northern countries.
The most exploited sites for halibut fishing are near Greenland, Alaska, Canada and Norway. The preferred systems are longline and longline, but the use of trawl nets is not uncommon which, on the other hand, seriously damages the ecosystem due to the annihilation of the fish colonies and the significant damage to the integrity of the seabed. marine.

Unfortunately, as with many other fish, the population density of halibut has been drastically reduced with the application of intensive fishing. Specifically, in correspondence of the North Atlantic Ocean, the halibut can now be considered an endangered species.

• Interestingly, in 2012, in the Cook Intel area, there was a dramatic increase in cases of "Halibut Molli Syndrome". This variation in consistency results in the fleshy gelatinization of the fish which, however, still seems perfectly edible. To date, the causes are still unknown but it is possible that they are attributable to a change in diet.

Composition for: 100g of Halibut - Reference values ​​of the INRAN Food Composition Tables

Nutritional values ​​(per 100 g of edible portion)

Edible part 80% Waterfall 74.5g Proteins 20.6g Prevailing amino acids - Limiting amino acid - Lipids TOT 3.5g Saturated fatty acids - g Monounsaturated fatty acids - g Polyunsaturated fatty acids - g Cholesterol 50.0mg TOT Carbohydrates tr Starch 0.0g Soluble sugars 0.0g Dietary fiber 0.0g Soluble fiber 0.0g Insoluble fiber 0.0g Power 114.0kcal Sodium - mg Potassium - mg Iron - mg Football - mg Phosphorus - mg Thiamine - mg Riboflavin - mg Niacin - mg Vitamin A - µg C vitamin tr Vitamin E - mg

Gastronomic Aspects of Halibut

Halibut is mainly consumed in fillets. These can be boiled, fried or grilled, while smoking is less recommended due to the very low fat content of the meat. The muscle tissue of the halibut is white, has a firm texture and a mild, almost neutral taste.
Halibut has represented an almost irreplaceable food source for Native Americans and early Canadians. In the places it colonizes, in addition to supporting the economy, halibut is an excellent source of entertainment for gastronomic tourism and sport fishing. .

Nutritional Characteristics

Halibut has very lean, low-calorie, high-protein, carbohydrate-free meat. On the other hand, information on the chemical profile of peptides and fats is not yet well known.
It is plausible to hypothesize that all essential amino acids are present in such quantities as to be able to define a "high biological value" of the respective proteins.
Furthermore, the ratio of fatty acids is not at all clear; since it is a Nordic fish, it is possible that it has a good content of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids of the omega 3 group. EXCLUSIVE of these essential lipids in the human diet.
The vitamin and saline profile still remains to be defined.
Halibut is a food that lends itself to any nutritional regimen, except for some forms of hypersensitivity in no way related to the most common metabolic diseases.
The frequency of consumption of halibut can be weekly (even twice), in portions ranging from 150 to 300g (170-340kcal).

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