Flounder Family
[families: Achiropsettidae (southern flounders), Bothidae (lefteye flounders), Paralichthyidae (large-tooth flounders), Pleuronectidae (righteye flounders)]

Flounders include a number of families of fish that have evolved to lie flat on the bottom. Their eyes have moved so both are on the side marked "up". They make their living by blending into the sea bottom, often partially covered with sand, and ambush their prey, but some of them also leave the bottom and hunt like regular fish.

In Europe "Sole" means fish of family Soleidae. In North America the name is applied haphazardly to various flounders that are not members of the Soleidae family - probably because "sole" sounds more European and sophisticated.

Dover Sole / Slime Fish - [Slime Sole, Slippery Sole; Microstomus pacificus]

Not the "real" Dover Sole (Solea solea) - this one is used mainly for mink food, but is also sometimes passed off to unsuspecting consumers as edible. It is native to coasts of the North Pacific, from San Diego, California up around and down to southern Japan. This fish can grow to nearly 15 inches and 7.7 pounds but is more commonly around 13 inches.

Actually dover sole is edible, though insipid, but used in recipes intended for real Solea soles it is an unmitigated disaster, turning to mush.

Solea solea which is a true sole, not a flounder, is not found outside European and North African waters, so it tends to be quite expensive here, if you can find it at all. When a recipe calls for "Dover Sole", Petrale Sole (actually a flounder) will do fine, but not Pacificus.   Details and Cooking.   Photo by U.S. National Oceans and Atmospheric Administration = public domain.

Halibut - [Hippoglossus stenolepis (Pacific), Hippoglossus hippoglossus (Atlantic)]

A large righteye flounder growing to almost 9 feet and 500 pounds. Pacific Halibut are found from central California through the Bearing Sea to the Sea of Japan. They are a prized eating fish and well known, so other flounder are sometimes labeled "Halibut" in markets. I have seen Petrale Sole labeled as "Baby Halibut". Atlantic Halibut is rated "EN" (endangered) and should not be fished or eaten.

Halibut is a white fleshed fish that holds up well to most methods of cooking. It is a large fish so it is most often sold as partial fillets. Petrale Sole, while much smaller, has similar cooking properties and can be used as a substitute. If you live on the East Coast or in Europe you can use Sole.
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Petrale Sole - [Eopsetta jordani]
A righteye flounder which can grow to 27 inches long and 8 pounds but the photo specimen was 20.5 inches and 3.6 pounds, a typical market size, mainly an incidental catch off the the Pacific coast from northern Baja to the Bering Sea coast of Alaska. This seasonal fish is mainly an incidental catch but is considered one of the best eating fish on the California coast so fetches a high price. It is not considered threatened.   Prep & Cooking Details.

Plaice - [family Pleuronectidae, Pleuronectes platessa (European) Hippoglossoides platessoides (American), Pleuronectes quadrituberculatus (Alaska)]

A group of medium size right eye flounders. The European can get up to 39 inches and is found in the East North Atlantic and Baltic Sea. The American gets to 32 inches and is found in the West Atlantic as far south as Rhode Island and around Greenland. The Alaskan grows to about 24 inches. Plaice is very popular in European recipes and is sometimes used for fiah and chips, but it's not common on the West Coast of North America where Petrale Sole should be a suitable substitute.   Photo of European Plaice by Hans Hillewaert distributed under license Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0.

Rex Sole - [Glyptocephalus zachirus]
This righteye flounder is caught in the North Pacific from Southern California to the Russian coast of the Bering Sea. The can grow to 23 inches and a bit over 4 pounds, but the fish in the photo was 13-3/4 inches long and weighed 10 ounces, typical in the markets here - though fish up to 1 pound are frequently seen. The population is not considered threatened and there hasn't been a lot of interest in farming this fish because it matures too slowly.   Prep & Cooking Details.

Sanddab - [Citharichthys sordidus (pacific), C. xanthostigma (long fin)]

This lefteye flounder was hugely popular in eateries in the San Francisco Bay area of California but is now in short supply because of fishery laws designed to protect shallow water rockfish. The sand dab itself is not considered threatened. Rex Sole is a perfect substitute (even though it is a righteye flounder from deeper water), similar in size, flavor and cooking properties. Sanddabs grow to 16 inches but are mostly under 1 pound. For Prep & Cooking Details see Rex Sole.   Photo by U.S. National Oceanica and Atmospheric Administration = public domain.

Starry Flounder - [Platichthys stellatus]
A very common fish from Santa Barbara California to Arctic Alaska and the Sea of Japan. Strangely, it is a righteye flounder but most have their eyes on the left side. They grow to 3 feet and 20 pounds.

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