Did You Know...Flounder?

• Its Latin name, Paralichthys lethosigma, literally means “parallel fish that forgot its spots.¨

• A flounder’s food is mainly fish spawn, crustaceans, polychaetes and small fish.

• Flounders ambush their prey, feeding at soft muddy areas of the sea bottom, near bridge piles, docks and coral reefs.

• Flounder have been found at the bottom of the Mariana trench.

• As they grow one eye moves until they have both eyes on the same side of the head.

• Male flounders are small, seldom growing larger than 10 to 12 inches, but the females grow larger and move longer distances. Females may reach 23 inches long, and spend most of the year in inshore waters, only migrating offshore during October to December to spawn.

• Flounder is a game fish, and due to over fishing, there has been a big drop in its population. Industrial pollution is also contributing to its decreasing numbers.