Brill are flat, oval-shaped fish with smooth skin and small scales. Brill differs from turbot in that it is not as large, is more oval, has smaller scales, the flesh not quite as firm, and it prefers less deep water. They live at the bottom of the sea, where they hide in sand, on the…
Flatfish
Flounder
The name “flounder” is applied now to so many different (though related for the most part) species of fish that it’s on the verge of becoming useless. In Europe, the species of fish is “Platichthys flesus.” In North America, flounder in general is a saltwater fish living off the east coast. But, there are Southern…
Halibut
Halibut are very large fish that prefer the cold waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic. Pacific halibut, which are slightly smaller than Atlantic halibut, are mostly found in the Gulf of Alaska.A member of the flounder family, halibut can grow up to six feet long (2 metres) and two to three hundred pounds…
Megrim
Megrim is a flat fish, and a member of brill and turbot family. It is oval-shaped, with brown skin on its upper side. They live off the western coast of the UK and Ireland, and off Iceland and Norway, ranging down to western Africa in the south. They are also found along northern Mediterranean shores…
Plaice
Plaice are a greyish-brown, heart-shaped flat fish related to flounders, with orange fins, and dark-orange spots on the upper side of its body and fins. Its underside is white. They live off the Atlantic coast of Europe: in the North Sea, in the Irish Sea, around Iceland and around the southern tip of Greenland. They…
Plaice (American)
American Plaice is not real plaice, nor is it really American. To further confuse matters (or mislead), it is often sold labelled as “sole.” It’s real name is roughback. It is a flatfish that lives in the Atlantic: on the European side around Norway, and on the American side, from Rhode Island up to southern…
Sole
Sole is a flatfish. The name gets applied, though, to two different fish. Real sole, aka Dover sole, is “Solea solea” and lives in the Atlantic off northern Europe. It’s a flatfish, that grows up to 27 inches (70 cm) long, but the usual size is 12 to 16 inches (30 to 40 cm) long….
Turbot
Turbot are a type of flounder. They are flat, roundish-oval salt-water fish that are sandy-brown coloured on their top side, and white on their undersides. Both of their eyes are on their upper side. It has no scales. It lives at depths down to 260 feet (80 metres.) When at rest, it will often barely…