Scientific name:
Pleuronectes platessa

Natural spread:
European coasts

the clod is not only the most known one but also the economically most important representative of the flat-fish. In contrast to the flounder, it has a completely smooth surface. On the head, a comb with 4-7 bone-humps arises between the eyes. This always rechtsäugige clod draws itself on the oliv - until red-brownish eye-side through numerous, lentil-big, orange stains from ("Goldbutt"). Still, one could catch until barely 1 m long clods, that gained a weight of maximum 7 kg and were approximately 50 years old, until in the 1920er years occasionally. Today, animals of 60-70 cm are biggest rarities; the average-length is between 25 and 40 cm.

Spread The clod is a reason-fish, who lives on 200 m in the coast-waters on sand and sound-grounds until in depths. One finds the young clods in the tides-zones of flat beaches on that occasion; with increasing age, they hike into deeper water-layers. The spread-area is enough from the white sea as well as from Iceland and Greenland's South-top over the European coasts, including north and Baltic sea as far as into the western Mediterranean.

Way of life Clods are herd-fish, who go on food-search especially at night. they live from small mussels, that are shreded with the pharynx-teeth, as well as from small cancers, snake-stars and bristle-worms. they undertake wide food and spawn-hikes.

Reproduction The females become in the 5.-6. Year of life, the males one year rather sexually mature. One of the preferred spawn-areas, the "depth is furrow" before the Dutch-Belgian coast. From January to March, each female sets aside 50 000-500 000 eggs, that drive freely in the water. According to water-temperature, the larvae hatch after 10-20 days. they live in the free water at first and live from plankton. With a length of 12-14 mm is the transformation completed to the right-sided flat-fish. The boys then move on to the ground-life.

Economic meaning The clod-catch becomes mainly with trawls and trick-calves, but also in Stellnetzen drove. Clods come predominantly on the market as fresh-fish.