Saturday 7 November 2009

American Plaice




The American plaice or sole, Hippoglossoides platessoides, is a flatfish that belongs, along with other right eyed flounders, to the Pleuronectidae family. Their range is from southern Labrador to Rhode Island. They spawn in the Gulf of Maine, with peak activity in April and May. They grow to a maximum length of 70 cm (28 inches). The species is considered by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization to be overfished, with no signs of recovery. 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.

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