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Way
of life
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Reproduction
The flounder mates at a depth of between 20-40
metres from February to May in the southern and south-eastern North
Sea. In the western Baltic they mate even deeper, 40-100 metres, and
require a salinity
of at least 1%. At lower salinities the eggs sink to the bottom and often
go to waste. The female lays between 400000 and 2 million eggs. Egg size
varies between 0,8-1,4 mm (the larger being in brackish water) and are
pelagic. Hatching takes place after 5-7 days at a temperature of about
10°C. Before falling to the bottom in shallow water, the larvae grow
from 3 mm to between 7-10 mm. At the age of one year the flounder is about
4 cm long around Bornholm and about 13 cm in the Kattegatt. Independent
of size, the males became sexually mature after 3 years and females after
4 years.
Misc.
The majority of flounders turn their right
side upwards, but up to a third can be left-sided. In areas where the
flounder mates at the same time as the plaice, mutations occur that are
less hoarse than the flounder and with red spots that are not as apparent
as on the plaice.
The flounder is fished with ordinary nets, hoop nets and
purse seines. It is usually sold fresh or smoked. Several countries have
imposed fishing restrictions pertaining to size and season.
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