Halibut

The halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus and H. stenolepis), in the same Pleuronectidae family as other flatfish like flounder, reached popularity in the nineteenth century, when the size of the individuals sometimes reached heroic proportions of six hundred pounds. Caught in northern Atlantic waters, inshore for many years but eventually on the Georges Bank as a commercial fishery in the mid-1800s, halibut was iced and shipped coastwise to the South and even inland by rail, which helps to account for cookbook writers across the country including halibut cooking directions. On the West Coast, the Pacific halibut is today an important fish both commercially and recreationally, while the East Coast halibut is mostly depleted.