What Type of Fish Is Sole?

A sole fish refers to a variety of flatfish. Soles refer to about 130 different species of flatfish, but the most known sole is the Dover flatfish, which is used in cooking. Soles are a part of family Soleidae. They're flat, with both eyes on the right side of their head. They're well-known for a mild, delicate flavor.

  1. Habitat

    • Sole live on the ocean floor and look up to see prey. They're saltwater fish, and live both in warmwater and coldwater. They use camouflage to hide from predators, often settling into the sand to hide. They eat small shellfish and crustaceans as juveniles and larger shellfish and plankton as full-grown adults. Sole can be found from the Bering Strait to Alaska and down to Baja California. As they age, they move to deeper water.

    Harvesting

    • Flatfish are a robust species for harvesting as their population levels are high. The Federal Government of the United States has decreased the number of vessels fishing for flatfish to prevent overfishing. Because they live on the sea floor, vessels use bottom trawls to catch them, with no known deleterious effects on their habitat as of 2011. Presently, there is no aquaculture industry for sole, though there's significant interest in establishing sole farms.

    Characteristics

    • Female sole live up to 53 years, and male sole live up to 58 years. Females grow up to 2 feet 6 inches, about 2 to 4 inches longer than males. Females sexually mature at seven years of age and can produce multiple spawns per year. They live as larvae for two years, and their primary predators at this stage are albacore, jack mackerel and tuna as well as seabirds.

    Cooking

    • Coating the sole fillet or whole fish in olive oil and lightly sprinkling it with salt and pepper is a way to prepare sole. Lay the sole in a roasting pan and bake them in an oven at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for thinner fillets and 400 degrees Fahrenheit for larger fish. A whole fish will be done after baking for 12 to 15 minutes per inch of thickness, and a fillet will take about 10 minutes per inch of thickness. Serve it with pepper, salt and lemon juice. They can also be prepared with a Hollandaise sauce in colder weather.