American plaice

The American plaice or sole, Hippoglossoides platessoides, is a flatfish that belongs, along with other right-eyed flounders, to the Pleuronectidae family. American plaice are an Atlantic species. 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. The species is considered by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization to be overfished, with no signs of recovery. On the other hand, the Canadian government believes the species is abundant, and counts it as the second most caught flatfish, totalling 50% of the flatfish caught by Canadian fishermen. A 1997 study reports that plaice are endangered in Canada due to overfishing.



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 yr of age.