Sea flounder: where it lives and how it looks, what it eats, varieties and sizes
Sea flounder is an interesting fish, which is distinguished by an unusual body of a bizarre shape. This individual is characterized by an interesting flattened body shape. At the same time, its meat has excellent taste and brings great he alth benefits. By a flat body, it is easy to determine that the fish lives at the bottom. At the same time, not everyone is familiar with her habits and features of catching.
Description
This predatory fish belongs to the Flatfish family. It mainly lives in the seas located in the basins of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The fish looks unusual, and this is its main distinguishing feature.
Appearance
The main characteristic feature of the flounder are bulging eyes, which are located on the right side of the body. For this feature, it is often called right-handed. In rare cases, the organ of vision is located on the left or on the sides.
The left side of the body without eyes is called the blind side. It is covered with thick and tough skin. This provides the fish with protection from enemies and improves movement on sand and rocky terrain.
The characteristic features of the sea flounder include the following:
- Torso - a flat body helps fish that live on the bottom to hide under a stone or burrow into the sand. The lateral line is located directly between the eyes. The skin on the right is considered smoother and is able to change shade depending on the color of the bottom. This improves camouflage. The left side, which is in contact with the bottom, is characterized by a lighter shade.
- Head - The eyes are protruding and fairly close together. The lateral line, which clearly separates them, makes it possible to perform functions separately. This significantly increases the overview. There are sharp teeth in the mouth. At the same time, it differs in a skewed shape. The gill cover is on the left.
- Fins - the tail is shortened, but perfectly fulfills its tasks. Due to this element, the fish moves quickly. The dorsal fin is elongated and close to the head. The abdominal elements are located symmetrically. They are distinguished by a narrow base and an abundance of rays. Thanks to this, the predator becomes more dexterous and invulnerable. The upper body is often brown in color. However, it is influenced by a number of factors - varieties of flounder and its habitat.
Habitat
Flounder mainly lives in the seas and oceans. In terms of geography, its habitat covers the following areas:
- coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea;
- the coast of Scandinavia;
- water bodies of the Central European continent.
Sea flounder lives in the waters of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. In general, this predator has many varieties and is distinguished by significant boundaries of its habitat. This fish is widespread and not on the verge of extinction.
Lifestyle
Flounder is river and sea. In any case, this fish is considered solitary and prefers to lead a bottom lifestyle. Representatives of the family are able to hide, mimicking the surrounding landscape. Most of the time the fish lie on the surface of the water or burrow deep into the sediment. Thanks to the presence of natural camouflage, the flounder gets the opportunity to ambush prey and hide from large predators.
Despite visual slowness and sluggishness, the flounder is an excellent swimmer. Such a fish quickly starts moving. At relatively short distances, it is able to develop quite a decent speed.
If required, the flounder is able to literally shoot with a flat body several meters in the required direction. With the help of a gill cover, it releases a powerful jet of water towards the bottom. While sand and silt settle, the fish manages to capture prey or hide from a large enemy.
In favorable conditions, the average lifespan of a flounder is 30 years. However, in a real environment, fish rarely manage to live to such an age. Individuals often die en masse in industrial fishing nets.
Diet
Flounder is considered a predator. All kinds of worms, mollusks, small fish, and crustaceans are considered the main diet of her diet. The fish has well developed teeth. Thanks to this, she is able to scour various zones of the water bottom in search of food. In addition, the predator knows how to hide in ambushes, burrowing into the soil to the very eyes.Sometimes it attacks with separate species more protected representatives of the marine fauna. Flounder is characterized by constant movement and search for food.
Sea bottom predator often makes sorties in order to search for accumulations of fresh caviar of other fish species. Flounder ruins spawning places and quickly eats other people's eggs. She goes hunting mainly at night, because she feels more comfortable in the dark. During the day, fish like to burrow into the soil, resting from night activity.
Fishing Features
Commercial catches are provided by trawl nets. From the description it is known that the fish lives in the deep layers. This means that it lives in perfectly clean water and does not accumulate impurities dangerous to people.
In coastal areas, fishermen catch flounder using spinning rods. In such places, young fish mainly live.Tackle is recommended to be thrown as far as possible. In this case, spinning should be placed at a significant angle. When using an equipped place for fishing, you should use comfortable boards. You can also fish for flounder from the shore. In this case, it is most convenient to use a tripod.
This fish bites quite unusually. She can take prey and remain motionless for some time. With a long cast of the rod, the flounder is easy to miss, because the fisherman simply does not notice the bite.
The following types of bait should be used as bait:
- shrimps;
- bulls;
- anchovies;
- mussels;
- squid;
- worms.
Experienced anglers cast jigs and large sinking wobblers. If you have a motor boat, you should use a sheer lure. Fishing on a boat is much easier as it is easier to follow and hook.
For flounder fishing, you should use a fishing line with a diameter of at least 0.4 mm. You will also need a strong reel, which makes it possible to cast line at 150 meters. The mass of the sinker must be at least 60 grams. At the same time, when choosing hooks, you should give preference to numbers from 6 to 10. Due to the large number of waves, undercurrents often appear in the seas.
The fish needs to be hooked quickly and confidently. In this case, no delay should be allowed. Sometimes prey actively resists. It is important to be prepared for this. In this case, do not rush to pull the prey towards you. She needs to be a little tired. Since the flounder swallows the bait deeply, a hook or extractor may be required.
Flounder in cooking
This fish spoils quickly. Therefore, it is recommended to defrost it immediately before cooking. After that, it is required to remove the head, if the carcass is whole, and cut off the fins. A more practical option is to buy gutted fish without a head.
The fish is characterized by soft and tender meat, which has a slightly sweet taste. Therefore, for its preparation, it is recommended to use simple methods. This will make it possible to preserve the taste and aroma.
The easiest way is to fry a flounder. To do this, take a prepared carcass or fillet, roll in flour with spices and fry on both sides in a pan. In this case, it is worth using a mixture of vegetable and butter. However, it is important to consider that this method of preparation significantly increases the calorie content of the product. Serve potatoes, vegetable stew or rice as a side dish for fried flounder.
Baked flounder would be a great option. If the carcass is large, it is recommended to cut it into portions. To give the product a rich and expressive taste, it is worth adding butter when baking. Fish prepared in this way is in harmony with citrus fruits and herbs.To make the process of cooking flounder faster, you should buy a pre-marinated carcass.
It is recommended to use dried flounder as a starter or snack. This fish has a rich aroma and looks very appetizing.
Interesting facts
Flounder is an unusual fish with many interesting facts:
- In 1980, a flounder 2 meters long and weighing 105 kilograms was caught. It happened in Alaska.
- Flounder is the only fish seen by oceanologist Jacques Picard in the Mariana Trench.
- The upper body of the fish includes a special pigment. Due to this, it is able to change color and adapt to any soil.
- Only sighted species of flounder are capable of camouflage. Blind fish don't have this ability.
Sea flounder is an interesting fish that has an unusual appearance. In addition, it is distinguished by delicious meat, which brings he alth benefits.
