Total ammonia content (TAmm) and excretion (JAmm), and ionic content (K+, Na+, Cl-) have been studied in embryos and yolk-sac larvae of Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus L.) maintained in darkness (6 °C and 34% S) or in light (light-arrested, nonon-hatching embryos). The TAmm of the eggs increased from 250-300 nmol ind-1 during the first 5-10 days post fertilization (dPF) to 400-500 nmol ind-1 at the time of natural hatching in darkness. TAmm did not start to decrease before 2-5 days after hatch, and yolk-sac larvae had a higher TAmm compared to the light-arrested embryos of the same age and batch. JAmm increased exponentially rom about 0.05 nmol ind-1 h-1 at 10 dPF to about 3 nmol ind-1 h-1 at hatch. Embryos undergoing hatching showed a significantly higher JAmm than non-hatching, light-arrested embryos of the same age. The content of K+ in distilled water rinsed eggs declined from about 0.85 µmol ind-1 at 2-4 dPF to about 0.15 µmol ind-1 at hatch, while that of Cl- remained constant at about t 0.85 µmol in-1, and that of Na+ increased slowly from 0.10 to 0.20 µmol ind-1 . Based on the measured ions, there was an anionic deficit in the egg, especially during the first week of development. When exposed to increased ambient total ammonia (0-27 mM NH4Cl), no mortality occurred, and no significant increase was found in the TAmm of the Atlantic halibut egg before 9.2 dPF despite an estimated large inward diffusion gradient for the un-ionized ammonia species (NH3). The delayed release of TAmm comp ared to embryos and yolk-sac larvae of other marine teleosts, may relate to the deep-water spawning of the Atlantic halibut, and the buoyancy regulation of the yolk-sac larvae.