Plaice

Where it lives

European plaice occupy sandy and muddy bottoms across the northeast Atlantic shelf, the North Sea, and the western Baltic, from Norway south to the Mediterranean. Adults occur from inshore down to 200 m; juveniles use estuaries and shallow bays as nurseries.

How to recognise it

A right-eyed flatfish — both eyes are on the right side of a body that lies on its left flank. The upper (right) side is olive-brown sprinkled with conspicuous red-orange spots; the underside is pearly white. A line of bony tubercles runs behind the head.

Diet & behavior

Plaice are bottom feeders, taking polychaete worms, brittle stars, mollusks, and small crustaceans. They lie partially buried by day and forage at dawn and dusk. Spawning happens in winter and early spring; pelagic larvae undergo metamorphosis to settle on the seabed.

Fisheries & Conservation

Globally Least Concern. A foundational species for North Sea beam-trawl fisheries; quota management has stabilized stocks after decades of pressure.