Fresh Halibut (© Enid Arvelo | Dreamstime.com)

Lovers of wild-caught halibut and black cod from the waters of Alaska can start looking over favorite recipes, as the harvest season will soon begin. Alaska’s waters are home to over 75% of the wild Pacific halibut and over 70% of the wild black cod caught in the United States.

Alaska halibut is the largest of the flatfish, some weighing over 300 pounds. Alaska black cod is high in omega-3 fatty acids, making it a preferred source of protein. Both whitefish selections pair naturally with a wide variety of flavor profiles and cooking applications such as: smoking, sautéing, poaching and roasting. Wild Alaska halibut and black cod are available fresh until mid-November.

Wild & Sustainable Choices

Alaska halibut and black cod, and in fact all seafood from Alaska, are wild and sustainable seafood choices. In fact, Alaska is the only state in the nation to have sustainability language written into its Constitution. Halibut is harvested exclusively with longline gear; black cod is harvested by longline and pots.

The 2010 wild Alaska halibut and black cod (sablefish) season opens March 6, 2010. Catch limits for Alaska halibut and black cod are set at 40.3 million pounds and 24.9 million pounds, respectively.

For more information on the topic and dozens of recipes, go to: Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute

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