WHAT IS A FLOUNDER?
This member of the flatfish family is famous for having a pancake shape and 2 eyes on top. At birth flounders look like all other fish having the same narrow head shape with 1 eye on each side. But after their larval stage as the fish ages, one of their eyes literally migrates across it’s body until it is next to the other one on the upward facing side. These escapees from a horror movie hide in the muddy bottom and ambush their prey. They are also considered one of the more delicious fish on your dinner plate!
WHERE DO FLOUNDERS COME FROM?
This was one of the few creatures to truly anger Charles Darwin when he tried to use evolutionary theory to explain their physiology. Their asymmetrical anatomy is due in large part to “the flatfish’s inner ears somehow begin to overrule the eyes until they become the sole organ telling the flatfish how to orient itself. “
WHEN ARE FLOUNDERS IN SEASON?
These fish are available year-round but the best time to catch them is the Fall. This is because the colder weather causes the fish to congregate together before swimming offshore to spawn. Also known as a “flounder run” this is the easiest time for fisherman to fish.
ARE FLOUNDERS ONE OF THE DIRTY DOZEN?
Despite being a predator, flounders in general are bottom feeders and low on the totem pole of risky mercury fish.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A HALIBUT, A FLOUNDER AND A FLUKE?
So a halibut is a flounder! Flounder is a generic term for any flatfish. Halibut in general are among the largest of the flatfish family. The pairs of eyes in halibut are always to the right of their central axis but flounders in general can be on either side. A fluke is another name for a summer flounder fish and is also a member of the flounder family. In general flukes have heads that face to the left.
