European plaice (Pleuronectes platessa)

Scientific name: Pleuronectes platessa Linnaeus, 1758

The European plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) is a brackish-water fish of the family Pleuronectidae. In the aquarium it needs water at 2–15°C (36–59°F). Native range: Northeast Atlantic, Greenland and Norway south to Morocco; Spain and France in the western Mediterranean. Also known from the White Sea and Estonia.

European plaice care at a glance

Temperature: 2–15°C (36–59°F)

Biology

Adults live on mixed bottoms, the older the deeper the occurrence; small individuals are usually seen on bathing beaches. Occurs on mud and sand bottom from a few meters down to about 100 m, at sea, estuaries and rarely entering freshwaters. Reported as resident intertidal species with homing behavior. Feed mainly on thin-shelled mollusks and polychaetes. Batch spawner. The most important flatfish for fisheries in Europe. Utilized fresh and frozen; eaten steamed, fried, boiled, microwaved and baked. Active at night in the very shallow water while day time is spent buried in the sand. Stationary for long periods, tagging experiments have shown that their spawning migrations can be long. Changes in the environmental conditions have been disadvantageous. Populations in Kattegat and Danish belts

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name: Pleuronectes platessa
Family: Pleuronectidae (Righteye flounders)
Order: Pleuronectiformes (Flatfishes)
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length: 100.0
Common length: 40.0
Depth range: 0–200 m (0–656 ft)
Environment: Marine; brackish; demersal; oceanodromous; depth range 0 - 200 m, usually 10 - 50 m
Climate: Temperate
Distribution: Northeast Atlantic: Greenland and Norway south to Morocco; Spain and France in the western Mediterranean. Also known from the White Sea and Estonia.
Conservation status (IUCN): Least Concern (LC)
Threat to humans: Harmless
Uses: Fisheries: highly commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
Resilience: Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.08-0.1; tm=2-7; tmax=50; Fec=50,000)