Movement of California halibut along the coast of California

From April 1992 to April 1997, volunteers tagged 26,827 California halibut, Paralichthys californicus, from Morro Bay, California to Isla Coronado del Norte, Baja California, Mexico. Catch-per-unit-effort was greater than ave rage from November through March and was below average from April through O ctober. The majority of recaptured halibut remained in the same general reg ion where they were tagged, not moving more than 5.5 km. However, some indi viduals moved great distances, 2 of them over 300 km. Halibut that moved mo re than 5.5 km exhibited no statistically significant directional preferenc e although more moved south. Total length and distance traveled were not si gnificantly related, Mean movement increased in halibut >550 mm, but this i ncrease was not statistically significant. Future tagging studies should in clude sufficient individuals >550 mm to determine whether the extent of mov ement changes as juveniles mature.