Star flounder: a description of where it lives, what it eats

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

Family Flounders (Pleuronectidae) represent reverse and right-sided forms of fish, forming dozens of genera with different sizes, habits, habitats. Regardless of the taxon, they all lead a bottom lifestyle and have a flattened thin body of a diamond-shaped or oval shape.

The star flounder will become the heroine of this article. You will learn about the features of this variety, range, lifestyle.

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Flounder fish can live in both fresh and sea water. Marine species are often found in river mouths. They cover long distances in fresh water. But both of these species breed only in the sea. The weight of marine species of flounder ranges from 7 to 10 kg, river species are much smaller. Their weight does not exceed two kilograms.

There are almost forty species of flounder in the world. The most common ones are:

• European smallmouth;
• halibut;
• Atlantic Long;
• s alt;
• star flounder;
• greenland halibut;
• yellow-bellied flounder.

River and sea flounder species differ in weight, eye placement, and size. In river individuals, they are often located on both the right and left sides. In addition, they differ in the shade of the scales. Interestingly, the flounder fish has the properties of a chameleon - in contact with objects of other colors, it can change the color of its body in a matter of minutes. True, this is not a cardinal color change, but the acquisition of a new, close to the main shade.

Habitat

Where does the star flounder live? Representatives of the species inhabit many water bodies of our planet. In the waters of the Pacific Ocean, in the waters of the Sea of Japan, in the coastal zone of Primorye, star flounder is especially common. In addition, this species lives in the Bering and Okhotsk Seas. It appears much less frequently in the Chukchi Sea.

Star flounder is quite often referred to as Pacific river flounder. In world production, the catch of this fish does not have large volumes. Its good by-catch in relation to other species is observed only in the waters of the Kamchatka Peninsula (western part) and the Bering Sea, in the southeast of Sakhalin, in the ocean part of Canada.

Star flounder: description

There are two forms of flounder of this species:

• coastal, which enters the mouths of rivers and stays there for the winter;
• marine, living year-round at great depths.

A distinctive feature of this species is the location of the eyes - on the left side. There are no scales on the body of the fish. On the left side, the color is darker (olive or brown). It is covered with studded plates shaped like stars. The back of the body is lighter. Black stripes are clearly visible on the fins of the star flounder.

According to scientists, this flounder prefers to settle near the coast in fresh waters - in estuaries, lagoons, shallow bays, etc. No cases of starfish catching at great depths have been recorded. In all areas of habitat, the maximum catch falls on the coastal zones of water bodies. The average size of this species, which lives in the waters of Asia, is about 58 cm and weighs more than three kilograms. Off the coast of America, specimens 90 cm long are found. The weight of such fish exceeds 9 kg. On average, a flounder lives about 18 years.

Lifestyle

The starry flounder leads a solitary benthic lifestyle, masquerading as the colors of the surrounding bottom soil. She spends most of her time almost motionless, lying on the bottom or buried up to her eyes in bottom sediments. Such natural camouflage solves two problems at the same time - to catch prey from an ambush and not become a victim of larger predators.

With seeming sluggishness and the habit of slowly moving along the ground with wave-like movements, the flounder is an excellent swimmer. It starts quickly and develops a fairly high speed over short distances. Whennecessary, she literally “shoots” her body in the right direction for several meters, releasing a powerful jet of water through the gill cover on the blind side into the bottom. While a thick suspension of sand and silt settles, the fish has time to capture prey or hide from a formidable predator.

What flounder eats

As a rule, star flounder feeds at dusk or at night. How can she get hold of the bottom? The food of this species largely depends on the age of the fish. Fry prefer various crustaceans, living in the estuarine zones of rivers. And large adults, whose length exceeds 30 cm, feed on mollusks, small fish.

The diet is predominantly food of animal origin. Juvenile flounder feeds on worms, benthos, larvae, amphipods, caviar, crustaceans. Adults will not refuse representatives of echinoderms, invertebrates, small fish, worms. The flounder especially loves capelin and shrimps.

The lateral position of the head is well suited for gnawing clams out of the ground. The strength of the toothy jaws of the flounder is so great that it allows the fish to easily cope with thick shells of cores (cardiids), crab shells. The high value of all representatives of the genus Pleuronectidae is largely determined by a balanced diet with feed containing a large amount of protein.

Commercial value

Due to the fact that the population of star flounder is small, it is not used in the fishery as the main catch. Despite this, experts are sure that in some areas of Kamchatka, the watersSea of Okhotsk, in the north-east of the bay of Sakhalin Island, it is possible to significantly increase the catch of this species. Live shrimp, shellfish, fresh fish are used as bait. Flounder is caught by fishing enthusiasts on donks with 0.3 mm fishing line and hooks No. 10.

Flounder spawning

Each taxon has its own spawning time. It depends on the timing of the onset of spring, the region, the rate of water heating (up to +2 ° C). Most flounder species breed between February and May. True, there are exceptions - for example, turbot (a large rhombus) is sent to spawn in the North and B altic Seas in April-August, and the polar flounder spawns in the ice-covered Kara and Barents Seas in December-January.

Puberty of young animals occurs in the third - sixth year of life. Females are extremely prolific - one clutch contains up to two million pelagic eggs. Their incubation period is 11 to 14 days. As spawning grounds, the star flounder chooses deep (7-15 m) coastal areas, which must necessarily have a sandy bottom.

Due to the high buoyancy of the masonry, as well as the absence of the need to attach it to a solid substrate, some types of flounder successfully spawn at a depth of up to 50 meters. The fry have a classic vertical shape, the sides of which are developed symmetrically. They feed on small benthos and zooplankton.

The benefits and harms of flounder

This fish is well studied today. Dishes from it are appreciated and loved in many countries.peace. It is used not only in cooking, but also in cosmetology. Due to the high content of useful amino acids and protein in this fish, it is used as a raw material for the production of high-quality collagen. In addition, flounder meat is the leader among other types of fish in terms of selenium content, which improves skin condition, activates brain activity, strengthens bones and tooth enamel, and protects against harmful radicals. Star flounder has a beneficial effect on the body due to the content of polyunsaturated omega-3 fats, amino acids and a minimum amount of fat, which leads to a decrease in blood cholesterol, has a positive effect on cardiac activity and vascular elasticity.

Calorie flounder

Comparing the meat of fish and animals, it is easy to conclude that underwater inhabitants contain a minimum of connective tissue. Thanks to this, the fish is quickly absorbed by the body and enriches it with valuable minerals and vitamins. The chemical composition of the flounder fillet includes:

• vitamins A, B and E;
• pyridoxine,
• riboflavin, methionine, thiamine;
• nicotinic and pantothenic acid;
• zinc, iron, copper, selenium, potassium, manganese, phosphorus,
• calcium;
• Omega-3 acids;
• fats 1.8g, proteins 17g (per 100g product);
• water, ash.

Calorie content of 100 grams of flounder fillet is about 90 kcal. Such a low rate allows it to be used as a dietary low-calorie product. However, we must remember that, despite the high nutritional value, the benefits and harmsflounders have a very thin line that is easy to cross with different methods of cooking.

For example, 100 g of smoked flounder fillet contains 200 kcal, and fried flounder contains 225 kcal. A minimum of calories is contained in boiled fish - about 105. Caviar is rich in vitamins A, D, E, F, contains lecithin and folic acid. This product contributes:

• activation of the brain;
• strengthening immunity;
• increase the elasticity of blood vessels.

Flounder caviar is used for stuffing pancakes and making sandwiches. In addition, it is fried and s alted. Flounder meat has a pleasant taste and is a valuable, widely used dietary product. Boiled, stewed or baked flounder is good for people of all ages.

Harm flounder

After carefully studying the composition of this predator, experts came to the conclusion that its benefits to the human body are not exaggerated. Moreover, it greatly outweighs its harm.

But, despite all its useful properties, flounder is not recommended for:

• protein intolerance;
• severe diseases of the liver and kidneys;
• hyperthyroidism;
• seafood intolerance.

Flounder dried without s alt retains all its beneficial properties, but in this form it can harm people with gastrointestinal problems. Flounder caught from polluted reservoirs in ecologically unfavorable places absorbsheavy metals and toxins. In this case, the harm of fish to humans will be enormous. That is why, when buying flounder, it is necessary to require a quality certificate from the seller, which indicates the place of its catch or breeding.