At the time of writing, the Halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) is rated as "Endangered", so anglers need to take this into consideration and, ideally, avoid targeting them until numbers recover. A halibut is a suction feeder, meaning that it seals off its giant gill plates and quickly opens its mouth, allowing water to flow through their mouth and suck in its prey (or bait). Due to their potential size, you need strong, but lightweight line and you must sharpen your hooks to ensure they can penetrate easily. Like most flatfish, Halibut will patiently wait for prey whilst camouflaged at on the bottom of the seabed, so use enticing movements with your bait by raising and lowering your rod to arouse the fish. Immediately after swallowing the bait (or prey), the halibut turns around. Usually at this point, the hook is very deep in its throat, but not yet hooked. Resist the urge to strike because, when the Halibut turns, the hook takes hold of the fish when the line angle steers the hook into the corner of the mouth. Then you need to be patient and bring it in slowly, even giving it some slack to until it calms down. In order to remove the hook prior to releasing the Halibut, it's important to keep the fish in the water for as long as you can. It is possible to release many fish without ever touching them. Simply bend over, take off the hook using your hand or pliers, and let the fish swim away. Keep a fish in water for as long as possible, and its chances of survival will increase substantially.