 California Halibut (Paralicthys californicus)
 Distribution of California halibut in San
Francisco Bay
California halibut are a member of the Bothidae family. They range from
Baja California to southern British Colombia and are now common in bays and
estuaries throughout California. They spawn in coastal waters year-round, but
in the San Francisco Bay area, larvae are generally most numerous in the fall.
Both eggs and larvae are pelagic. Egg and larval survival is related to temperature,
improving greatly with water temperatures greater than 13 degrees Centigrade. Larvae
settle to the bottom at about 10 mm TL and the young halibut seek out shallow protected
water for their first few years of life. Juveniles move to deeper water with growth.
Maturity is reached as early as age-2 for male and females mature at age-5 or six.
Halibut may live as long as 30 years.
Juvenile fish were not common in San Francisco Bay prior to the El Nino
currents of 1982-1984. Subsequently, young-of-the-year have been collected each
winter following fall ocean surface temperatures greater than 14 degrees centigrade.
Halibut numbers have increased substantially in San Francisco Bay through the late
1980s and early 1990s due to local recruitment during the numerous warm water years.
Halibut are now an important component of the in-Bay and nearshore recreational fishery.
Increased effort has been directed at halibut due to declining striped bass and salmon
populations.
Annual abundance indices for the California halibut are
generated from
the San Francisco Bay Monitoring Program using
otter trawl data.
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