Appearance
The European plaice is characterised above by their dark green to dark brown skin, blotched with conspicuous, but irregularly distributed, orange spots. The underside is pearly white. The skin is smooth with small scales. They are able to adapt their colour somewhat to match that of their surroundings, but the orange spots always remain visible The skin lacks any prickles.Its maximum length is about 1 m, but adults, caught in fishing nets, are usually between 50 and 60 cm in length. Its maximum published weight is 7 kg and its maximum recorded age is 50 years.
The outline of adults is oval. The head is rather small and is less than 25% of the total length. The pointed mouth is terminal and fairly small with its maxilla reaching just below the right eye. Both eyes are located at the right side of the body. The bony ridge behind the eyes is another characteristic for this species. The lateral line curves slightly above the pectoral fin. The dorsal fin reaches the eye. The dorsal and anal fins are distant from the caudal fin. The anal fin contains 48 to 59 soft rays and is preceded by a spine. The dorsal fin has 65-79 soft rays, the pectoral fin 10 to 11, and the ventral fin six.
Distribution
The geographical range of the European plaice is off all coasts from the Barents Sea to the Mediterranean, also in the Northeast Atlantic and along Greenland. In some locales such as the Irish Sea this species is considered fully exploited by commercial fishing.It is a common flatfish, occurring on the sandy and muddy bottoms of the European shelf, usually at depths between 10 and 50 m, where they tend to burrow in sediment during day time and remain stationary for long periods. They can be found at depths to about 200 m. Young fish in particular come right inshore in very shallow water.
They are able to survive low salt concentrations and may occur in some cases in brackish water or even in fresh water.
Habitat
The geographical range of the European plaice is off all coasts from the Barents Sea to the Mediterranean, also in the Northeast Atlantic and along Greenland. In some locales such as the Irish Sea this species is considered fully exploited by commercial fishing.It is a common flatfish, occurring on the sandy and muddy bottoms of the European shelf, usually at depths between 10 and 50 m, where they tend to burrow in sediment during day time and remain stationary for long periods. They can be found at depths to about 200 m. Young fish in particular come right inshore in very shallow water.
They are able to survive low salt concentrations and may occur in some cases in brackish water or even in fresh water.
Food
It is active at night and feeds on polychaetes, crustaceans and bivalves. Young plaice tend to consume mainly shrimps.Plaice is sometimes used as the fish in fish and chips, in countries where the dish is popular....hieroglyph snipped...In North German and Danish cuisine, plaice is one of the most commonly eaten fishes. Filleted, battered, and pan-fried plaice is popular hot or cold as an open sandwich topping together with remoulade sauce and lemon slices. Battered plaice can also be served hot with french fries and remoulade sauce as a main dish; this fish and chips variant is commonly available as a children's special in Danish restaurants. Breaded frozen plaice, ready to be baked or fried at home, is readily available in supermarkets. Fresh plaice is also oven-baked.
Predators
Plaice, along with the other major demersal fish in the North Sea such as cod, monkfish, and sole, is listed by the ICES as "outside safe biological limits." Moreover, they are growing less quickly now and are rarely older than six years, whereas they can reach 40. The World Wildlife Fund says, in 2006, "of the eight plaice stocks recognised by ICES, only one is considered to be harvested sustainably while three are overexploited. Data are insufficient to assess the remaining stocks; however, landings for all stocks are at or near historical lows."In 2010, Greenpeace International has added the European plaice to its seafood red list.
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