Why is this happening?
In the 19th century the Atlantic Halibut were overfished and this species have had no sign of recovery since then. The Atlantic halibut was a really important part of seafood, but due to its slow rate of population growth it can’t recover quickly from over fishing and fishery collapsed. Because of its popularity as food fish it attracted also investment in fish farming. In 2006 five countries (Canada, Norway, UK, Iceland and Chile) were involved in Atlantic halibut aquaculture production. In early 1800s the Halibut fishery in Georges Bank, Gulf of Maine started, because on Massachusetts Bay Halibut fish were exceedingly abundant fishers could catch 15,000 pounds of fish in a two-day trip. After this the halibut fishery became very productive, vessels confirmed that they could catch 50,000 pounds of fish in two days. In the early 1900s there was a decline in this fish and this depletion impacted the companies and their income. Due to over fishing, this species are now considered endangered species. Compared to the amount of Halibut fish there was in 1977-2000 less than one third of that amount was averaged during 2001-2005. Now, updating this average is difficult and almost impossible because these fish re now hardly seen and no halibut are caught during the surveys done.
Consequently, the Atlantic Halibut now is in high risk of extinction and in 1996the IUCN rated it as Endangered, placing it on its Red List. This large fish is now a US National Marine Fisheries Service Species of Concern. (Link: Species of Concern are those species about which the US government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, has some concerns regarding status and threats, but for which insufficient information is available to indicate a need to list the species under the Endangered Species Act(ESA). The American Fisheries Society has classified the species as "Vulnerable".) In 2010 Greenpeace International also added the Atlantic halibut to its seafood red list. (Link: "The Greenpeace International seafood red list is a list of fish that are commonly sold in supermarkets around the world, and which have a very high risk of being sourced from unsustainable fisheries.")
Bibliography
"Atlantic Halibut (Hippoglossus Hippoglossus)." Atlantic Halibut Videos, Photos and Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://www.arkive.org/atlantic-halibut/hippoglossus-hippoglossus/>.Brodzaik, Jon, and Laurel Col. "Atlantic Halibut - Status of Fishery Resources off the Northeastern US." Atlantic Halibut - Status of Fishery Resources off the Northeastern US. N.p., Dec. 2011. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/fldrs/halibut/>.
"Animal Planet." Animal Planet. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://animal.discovery.com/fish/fishing/top-10-most-endangered-fish.htm>.
Also see: http://animal.discovery.com/fish/halibut-info.htm
Pictures taken form google.
"Animal Planet." Animal Planet. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://animal.discovery.com/fish/fishing/top-10-most-endangered-fish.htm>.
Also see: http://animal.discovery.com/fish/halibut-info.htm
Pictures taken form google.