Sole is a fish belonging to several families. Generally speaking, they are members of the family Soleidae, but, outside Europe, the name sole is also applied to various other similar flatfish, especially other members of the sole suborder Soleoidei as well as members of the flounder family. In European cookery, there are several species which may be considered true soles, but the common or Dover sole Solea solea , often simply called the sole, is the most esteemed and most widely available. [1]
The word sole in English, French, and Italian comes from its resemblance to a sandal, Latin solea . [2] [3] In other languages, it is named for the tongue, e.g. Greek glóssa ( γλώσσα ), German Seezunge , Dutch zeetong or tong or the smaller and popular sliptong (young sole), Hungarian nyelvhal , Spanish lenguado , Cantonese lung lei ( 龍脷 , 'dragon tongue'), Arabic lisan Ath-thawr ( لسان الثور ) (for the common sole) meaning 'the tongue of ox' in Qosbawi accent, Turkish dil .
A partial list of common names for species referred to as sole include:
The true sole, Solea solea, is sufficiently distributed that it is not considered a threatened species; however, overfishing in Europe has produced severely diminished populations, with declining catches in many regions. For example, the western English Channel and Irish Sea sole fisheries face potential collapse according to data in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan.
Sole, along with the other major bottom-feeding fish in the North Sea such as cod, monkfish, and plaice, is listed by the ICES as "outside safe biological limits." Moreover, they are growing less quickly now and are rarely older than six years, although they can reach forty. World stocks of large predatory fish and large ground fish such as sole and flounder were estimated in 2003 to be only about 10% of pre-industrial levels. [4] [5] [6] According to the World Wildlife Fund in 2006, "of the nine sole stocks, seven are overfished with the status of the remaining two unknown."
In 2010, Greenpeace International has added the common sole to its seafood red list. "The Greenpeace International seafood red list is a list of fish that are commonly sold in supermarkets around the world, and which have a very high risk of being sourced from unsustainable fisheries." [7]
Flounders are a group of flatfish species. They are demersal fish, found at the bottom of oceans around the world; some species will also enter estuaries.
Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally, resulting in the species becoming increasingly underpopulated in that area. Overfishing can occur in water bodies of any sizes, such as ponds, wetlands, rivers, lakes or oceans, and can result in resource depletion, reduced biological growth rates and low biomass levels. Sustained overfishing can lead to critical depensation, where the fish population is no longer able to sustain itself. Some forms of overfishing, such as the overfishing of sharks, has led to the upset of entire marine ecosystems. Types of overfishing include growth overfishing, recruitment overfishing, and ecosystem overfishing.
Sole may refer to:
The true soles are a family, Soleidae, of flatfishes. It includes saltwater and brackish water species in the East Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and West and Central Pacific Ocean. Freshwater species are found in Africa, southern Asia, New Guinea, and Australia.
Sebastes norvegicus, the rose fish, rock fish, ocean perch, Atlantic redfish, Norway haddock, golden redfish, pinkbelly rosefish, Norway Seaperch, Scottish Seaperch or bergylt, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Sebastinae, the rockfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae. It is found in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is a large, slow-growing, late-maturing fish and the subject of a fishery.
Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes. They occupy the sea floors and lake beds, which usually consist of mud, sand, gravel or rocks. In coastal waters, they are found on or near the continental shelf, and in deep waters, they are found on or near the continental slope or along the continental rise. They are not generally found in the deepest waters, such as abyssal depths or on the abyssal plain, but they can be found around seamounts and islands. The word demersal comes from the Latin demergere, which means to sink.
The Pacific Dover sole, also called the slime sole or slippery sole, is a Pacific flatfish of the flounder family which ranges from Baja California to the Bering Sea. It takes its name from a resemblance to the common sole of Europe, which is often called Dover sole.
The common sole, Dover sole, or black sole is a species of flatfish in the family Soleidae. It is one of the largest fish in the Solea genus. It lives on the sandy or muddy seabed of the northern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea where it often partially immerses itself in the substrate. The upper side is greyish-brown while the underside is white. It grows to a maximum length of about 70 cm (28 in). The species is prized as a food fish, being caught mostly by trawling on the seabed.
The End of the Line: How Overfishing Is Changing the World and What We Eat is a book by journalist Charles Clover about overfishing. It was made into a movie released in 2009 and was re-released with updates in 2017.
Sustainable seafood is seafood that is caught or farmed in ways that consider the long-term vitality of harvested species and the well-being of the oceans, as well as the livelihoods of fisheries-dependent communities. It was first promoted through the sustainable seafood movement which began in the 1990s. This operation highlights overfishing and environmentally destructive fishing methods. Through a number of initiatives, the movement has increased awareness and raised concerns over the way our seafood is obtained.
Fishing in the North Sea is concentrated in the southern part of the coastal waters. The main method of fishing is trawling.
In 1992, Northern Cod populations fell to 1% of historical levels, due in large part to decades of overfishing. The Canadian Federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, John Crosbie, declared a moratorium on the Northern Cod fishery, which for the preceding 500 years had primarily shaped the lives and communities of Canada's eastern coast. A significant factor contributing to the depletion of the cod stocks off Newfoundland's shores was the introduction of equipment and technology that increased landed fish volume. From the 1950s onwards, new technology allowed fishers to trawl a larger area, fish more in-depth, and for a longer time, with the catches peaking in the 1970s and 1980s. Cod stocks were depleted at a faster rate than could be replenished.
Plaice is a common name for a group of flatfish that comprises four species: the European, American, Alaskan and scale-eye plaice.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fisheries:
Saltwater fish, also called marine fish or sea fish, are fish that live in seawater. Saltwater fish can swim and live alone or in a large group called a school.
The wedge sole, is a flatfish of the family Soleidae. It is a bottom dwelling predatory fish inhabiting both sandy and muddy soils at depths between 10 and 450 m in the East Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. It achieves a maximum size of 30 cm (12 in).
Zebrias is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Soleidae.
The Egyptian sole is a species of flatfish in the true sole family, Soleidae. It lives on the sandy or muddy seabed of the Mediterranean Sea, and is now colonising the Red Sea. It often semi-immerses itself in the substrate. The upper side is greyish-brown while the underside is white. It grows to a maximum length of about 70 cm (28 in). This fish is used for human consumption and is prized as a food fish. It is caught mostly by trawling on the seabed.
Solea senegalensis, the Senegalese sole, is a species of flatfish from the family of the true soles, the Soleidae, from the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea.
The thickback sole, also known as the bastard sole and lucky sole, is a species of flatfish from the family of true soles, the Soleidae. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, it is a quarry for fisheries in the Mediterranean.
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