American plaice

American plaice
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Carangiformes
Family: Pleuronectidae
Genus: Hippoglossoides
Species:
H. platessoides
Binomial name
Hippoglossoides platessoides
(O. Fabricius, 1780)
Synonyms
  • Pleuronectes limandoides Bloch, 1787
  • Pleuronectes platessoides O. Fabricius, 1780

The American plaice, American sole or long rough dab (Hippoglossoides platessoides) is a North Atlantic flatfish that belongs, along with other right-eyed flounders, to the family Pleuronectidae. In the northwest Atlantic (H. p. platessoides) it ranges from Greenland and Labrador to Rhode Island, and in the northeast Atlantic (H. p. limandoides) it ranges from Murmansk to the English Channel, Ireland and Iceland.[2][3] They live on soft bottoms at depths of 10 to 3,000 m (33–9,843 ft), but mainly between 90 and 250 m (300–820 ft).[2]

In the Gulf of Maine spawning peaks in April and May. They grow to a maximum length of 70 centimetres (28 in).[4] The species is considered by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization to be overfished, with no signs of recovery.[5] Canadian officials dispute this, claiming the population is under less than 20% risk of extinction in the next 80 years however, it remains under the moratorium established in 1993.[6][7] A 1997 study reports that plaice are endangered in Canada due to overfishing.[8] In its European range, the species is generally common and not actively sought by fishers, but it is often part of the bycatch.[3]

American plaice may be an intermediate host for the nematode parasite Otostrongylus circumlitis, which is a lungworm of seals, primarily affecting animals less than 1 year of age.[citation needed]

  1. ^ Cadrin, S.; González Troncoso, D.; Wheeland, L.; Munroe, T.A. (2022). "Hippoglossoides platessoides". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T18214783A162705101. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T18214783A162705101.en. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Hippoglossoides platessoides". FishBase. September 2016 version.
  3. ^ a b Muus, B., J. G. Nielsen, P. Dahlstrom and B. Nystrom (1999). Sea Fish. pp. 260–261. ISBN 8790787005
  4. ^ [1] Archived March 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Dery, L.M. "American plaice, Hippoglossoides platessoides." Fishery Biology Program, Woods Hole Massachusetts Laboratory of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC).retrieved January 18, 2007
  5. ^ "NAFO Fishery". Archived from the original on June 7, 2007. Retrieved January 19, 2007. Fishery Recent Assessment (2005 and 2006). Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization. Retrieved January 18, 2007
  6. ^ "American Plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides), Newfoundland and Labrador population". Retrieved February 12, 2024. American Plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides), Newfoundland and Labrador population, April 2009, Government of Canada
  7. ^ "3Ps Groundfish and Iceland Scallop (Core Area) Newfoundland and Labrador (2022-23)". Retrieved February 12, 2024. 3Ps Groundfish and Iceland Scallop (Core Area) Newfoundland and Labrador (2022-23), April 5 2022, Government of Canada
  8. ^ Bergeron et al. 1997. Canadian Journal of Zoology 75: 1364–1371.