Plaice is a common name for a group offlatfish that comprises four species: theEuropean,American,Alaskan andscale-eye plaice.
Commercially, the most important plaice is theEuropean. The principal commercial flatfish in Europe, it is also widely fished recreationally, has potential as an aquaculture species, and is kept as an aquarium fish. TheAmerican plaice is also commercially important.
The termplaice (pluralplaice) comes from the 14th-century Anglo-Frenchplais. This in turn comes from the lateLatinplatessa, meaning flatfish, which originated from theAncient Greekplatys, meaning broad.[1]
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 Distribution map for European plaice (The Sea Around Us) |
TheEuropean plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) is a right-eyedflounder belonging to the familyPleuronectidae. It is a commercially important flatfish that lives on the sandy bottoms of the European shelf. It ranges geographically from theBarents Sea to theMediterranean. European plaice are characterised by their smooth brown skin, with distinctive red spots and a bony ridge behind the eyes. They feed onpolychaetes,crustaceans andbivalves and can be found at depths of up to 200 metres. At night they move into shallow waters to feed and during the day they bury themselves in the sand. Their maximum recorded length is 100 cm (39 in) and maximum reported age 50 years.[3]
Together withsole, European plaice form a group offlatfish that are the most important flatfish in Europe.[4] European plaice have been fished from theNorth Sea for hundreds of years. They are usually fished frombeam trawlers,otter trawlers orseiners.[5] In theCeltic Sea the plaice species is consideredoverfished.[6]
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| Distribution map for American plaice (The Sea Around Us) |
Like the European plaice, theAmerican plaice is a right eyed flatfish belonging to the familyPleuronectidae. American plaice are an Atlantic species,[9] which range from southernLabrador toRhode Island. They are also found in Europe, where they are called rough dab or long rough dab. They spawn in theGulf of Maine, with peak activity in April and May. They are brown or reddish, and are generally smaller than European plaice, with a rougher skin and larger scales. Their maximum recorded length is 82.6 cm (32.5 in), and maximum reported age 30 years. They are usually found between depths of 90 and 250 m (300 and 820 ft) on sandy bottoms with temperatures between −0.5 and 2.5 °C (31.1 and 36.5 °F). They feed on small fishes and invertebrates.[10][11]
The species is considered by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization to be overfished, with no signs of recovery.[12] Though they are also currently endangered in Canada due tooverfishing,[13] the Canadian government believes the species is abundant. Flatfish, as a group, are second-most caught (by weight) only to cod in Canada, with American plaice accounting for 50 percent of all flatfish caught.[14]
American plaice may be anintermediate host for the nematode parasiteOtostrongylus circumlitis, which is alungworm ofseals, primarily affecting animals less than 1 year of age.[13]
Alaska plaice can live for up to 30 years and grow to 60 cm (24 in) long, but most that are caught are only seven or eight years old and about 30 cm (12 in).[16]
Most commercialfisheries do not targetAlaska plaice, but many are caught asbycatch bycommercial trawlers trying to catch other bottom fish. Thus, many Alaska plaice get caught anyway — so much so that, for example, the 2005 total allowable catch in theBering Sea andAleutian Islands management area (BSAI) was reached before the end of May of that year.[citation needed]
Thescale-eye plaice is aflatfish of the familyPleuronectidae. It is ademersal fish that lives at depths of 18 to 900 m (59 to 3,000 ft). It can reach 46 cm (18 in) in length and can weigh up to 1.2 kg (2.6 lb). Its native habitat is thenorthern Pacific, primarily from theSea of Okhotsk toJapan andKorea, though it is also found in theBering Sea.[17]
Plaice, along with the other major demersal fish in theNorth Sea such ascod,monkfish andsole, is listed by theICES as "outside safe biological limits." Moreover, they are growing less quickly now and are rarely older than six years, whereas they can reach forty.[18] TheWorld Wide Fund for Nature says that in 2006 "of the eight plaice stocks recognised by ICES, only one is considered to be harvested sustainably while three areoverexploited. Data is insufficient to assess the remaining stocks; however, landings for all stocks are at or near historical lows."[19]
In North German andDanish cuisine, plaice is one of the most commonly eaten fish. Filleted, battered, and pan-fried plaice is popular hot or cold as anopen sandwich topping together withremoulade sauce and lemon slices. Battered plaice is often served hot withfrench fries and remoulade sauce as a main dish; thisfish and chips variant is popular[20] and is commonly available on children's menus in Danish restaurants. Breaded frozen plaice, ready to be baked or fried at home, are readily available in supermarkets. Fresh plaice is also oven-baked.
"The flesh of plaice is white, tender and subtle-flavoured."[5]
Smoked plaice is one of the traditional summer time delicacies ofHiiumaa island.[citation needed]
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