Sole

Where it lives

Dover sole inhabits sandy and muddy bottoms from the southern North Sea south to the western Mediterranean and along the western African coast. Adults prefer 30 to 100 m depths; juveniles use shallow coastal flats and estuaries.

How to recognise it

A small, elongated, oval right-eyed flatfish with a rounded snout that overhangs a curved, slipper-shaped mouth. The blind (left) side is white; the eyed side is mottled brown with a distinct dark patch on the leading edge of the pectoral fin. The lateral line is straight.

Diet & behavior

Sole are nocturnal bottom feeders that detect buried polychaete worms, small mollusks, and crustaceans using sensitive papillae on the underside of the head. By day they bury completely in the sand.

Fisheries & Conservation

Globally Least Concern, though several North Sea stocks have been heavily fished and remain under quota management. The North Sea sole fishery underpins the historic English “Dover sole” trade.