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Australian Halibut

Australian Halibut

Psettodes Erumei

Quick Facts

Scientific namePsettodes Erumei

Other namesIndian Halibut, Queensland Halibut, Tropical Halibut

SizeUp to 64 cm (25 in)

WeightUp to 9 kg (20 lb)

FamilyAustralian Halibut / Psettodidae

Distribution

Habitat & AU DistributionCoastal waters in muddy and sandy areas

Depth Range1 - 100 m (3 - 328 ft)

The Australian Halibut is a broad, flat fish that can grow to about 64 cm long and weigh up to 9 kg. It is one of the larger flatfish found in Australian waters.
In Australia, it lives across the tropical north, where it settles on sandy and muddy seabeds in coastal waters. Its range stretches much further, from the Red Sea and East Africa all the way to Japan.
During the day, the Australian Halibut spends most of its time buried in the sand or mud. It comes out at night to hunt, making it an ambush predator that relies on hiding to get close to prey.
It feeds mainly on other fish, hunting them close to the seabed after dark. The Australian Halibut has a large mouth filled with strong teeth, well suited to grabbing slippery prey.
One unusual trait sets this flatfish apart from most of its relatives: it often swims in an upright position rather than lying flat. Most flatfish stay horizontal, so this behaviour is genuinely odd for the group.
The Australian Halibut is also unusual among flatfish because its eyes can sit on either the left or the right side of its head. In most flatfish families, the eyes reliably end up on one side only.
Its colour is usually brown or grey, which helps it blend into the sandy and muddy bottoms where it rests. Some individuals show four broad, dark bands across the upper side, and the tips of the fins are blackish.
The body is oval and noticeably thicker than most other flatfish. It looks more solid and robust than the thin, paper-flat shape many people picture when they think of a flounder.
Australian Halibut begin breeding at around 37 to 39 cm long, meaning they are well into adulthood before they reproduce. At a maximum size of 64 cm, they still have growing to do after they first spawn.
It typically lives at depths of around 20 to 50 m, though it has been recorded from very shallow water down to about 100 m. It favours sheltered areas with soft-bottomed habitat.
In Australian waters it turns up as bycatch in northern prawn trawl fisheries, caught unintentionally while trawlers target prawns across the tropical north.
Specific biological data for Australian populations of this species is limited. There is still plenty to learn about the Australian Halibut in its home range.

Species Interaction

Australian Halibut: A Bycatch Species of Northern Trawl Grounds

Recreational Fishing
Research & Rare Encounters
Ecosystem Role

The Australian Halibut is not commonly targeted by recreational or commercial fishers, but it is regularly caught as bycatch. Research from the GBR Seabed Biodiversity Project identified the species as having an elevated risk from trawling, with a relatively high proportion of the local population estimated to be caught by trawl fisheries. Recreational anglers also occasionally encounter them while fishing lures over sandy or muddy inshore areas of northern Australia.

Species
Sustainability

Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Teleostei
Order: Pleuronectiformes
Family: Psettodidae
Genus: Psettodes
Species: Psettodes erumei

Conservation Status

The Australian Halibut has not been assessed by the IUCN Red List and carries no listing under Australia’s EPBC Act. It is taken as bycatch in northern Australian trawl fisheries but is not a target commercial species, and no formal stock assessment or conservation classification has been recorded for this species.