Bony fish · Pleuronectiformes · Pleuronectidae

Plaice

Pleuronectes platessa

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

One-year-old fish keep strictly to the coast, while older age classes spread gradually into deeper water.

Weight

3.9 kg on average

Size

up to 1 m

Lifespan

45 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Fun facts

It eats polychaetes, bivalve molluscs and small bottom-living crustaceans.
It lives on sandy bottoms of the North Sea, the Baltic and the north-eastern Atlantic.
It has reached a documented record of 45 years, according to otolith studies.

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (fish)
Habitat & environment: Sandy bottoms of the North Sea, the Baltic and the north-eastern Atlantic, from Iceland to the Bay of Biscay
Birth weight: A symmetrical pelagic larva on hatching
Size at birth: A symmetrical pelagic larva on hatching
Sexual maturity: Mature at a length of between 24 and 42 cm
Gestation / incubation: Pelagic spawner: the eggs hatch in 2-3 weeks
Litter / clutch size: Numerous pelagic eggs released in the open waters of the North Sea