Turbot (Scophthalmus maximus)

Scientific name: Scophthalmus maximus Linnaeus, 1758

Turbot (Scophthalmus maximus)

The Turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) is a brackish-water fish of the family Scophthalmidae.

Biology

Adults live on sandy, rocky or mixed bottoms; rather common in brackish waters. Feed mainly on other bottom-living fishes (sand-eels, gobies, etc.), and also, to a lesser extent, on larger crustaceans and bivalves. Batch spawner. Spawning season is between April and August; pelagic eggs. May reach 25 kg. Highly esteemed food fish. Utilized fresh or frozen; eaten steamed, pan-fried, broiled, boiled, microwaved and baked.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Scophthalmus maximus
Family
Scophthalmidae (Turbots)
Order
Pleuronectiformes (Flatfishes)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
100.0
Common length
70
Depth range
20–70 m (66–230 ft)
Environment
Marine; brackish; demersal; oceanodromous; depth range 20 - 70 m
Climate
Temperate
Distribution
Northeast Atlantic: throughout the Mediterranean and along the European coasts to Arctic Circle; also found in most of the Baltic Sea. Subspecies Psetta maxima maeotica in the Black Sea.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
Resilience
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.15-0.28; tm=3-5; tmax=26; Fec=5 million)

More other freshwater fish

See all other freshwater fish

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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