Starry Flounder

Platichthys stellatus

Photo contributed by: Bill Barss Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Aquaculture Potential The starry flounder fishery is not large. However, the species does have some attributes that may make it an interesting species for aquaculture. First, its shape and coloration may make it a popular ornamental species. Second, it has high fecundity (900,000–11,000,000 eggs). The starry flounder also has a tolerance for a wide range of salinity (even freshwater). In addition, this species eats a variety of invertebrates, which may allow for easy acceptance of food in a laboratory setting. However, an aquarium guide does classify starry flounder as a difficult species to keep in an aquarium.

In-depth Information Regarding this Species

U.S. Range in the Pacific Ocean	Bering Sea to Southern California (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Habitat	Nearshore and estuary Common (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Substrate	Soft bottom–mud, sand, or gravel) No rock (Orcutt 1950, Pedersen and DiDonato 1982 in Emmett et al. 1991)
Depth range (meters)	Down to 274 (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Behavior	Can change color to hide (Orcut 1950 in Emmett et al. 1991) Bottom-dwelling (Burgess et al. 1990)
General Temperature Range (°C)	0–21.5 +28.0 lethal (Stober 1973 in Emmett et al. 1991)
General Salinity Range (ppt)	Freshwater tolerant (especially juveniles) Individuals up to 15.24 cm in length can be found in freshwater (Love 1996)
Average Maximum Overall Length (cm)	91 (Orcutt 1950, Hart 1973 both in Emmett et al. 1991, Love 1996, Eschmeyer and Herald 1983, Burgess et al. 1990)
Average Maximum weight (kg)	9.1 (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Overall Length to Age Ratio (cm/age in years)	30.5/4 (Love 1996)
Overall Maximum Age (years)	24 (Love 1996)
Maximum Age for Males (years)	24 (Campana 1984 in Emmett et al. 1991)
Maximum Age for Females (years)	17 (Campana 1984 in Emmett et al. 1991)
Overall Growth Rate	Females grow faster, get larger, and live longer than males (Love 1996)
Male Age at Maturity (years)	2–3 (Love 1996, Emmett et al. 1991)
Female Age at Maturity (years)	3–4 (Love 1996) 3 (some mature) 4 (all mature) (Orcutt 1950, Campana 1984 both in Emmett et al. 1991)
Male Length at Maturity (cm)	36.83 (Love 1996) 17–30 (Emmett et al. 1991)
Female Length at Maturity (cm)	40.64 (Love 1996) 23–35 (Orcutt 1950, Campana 1984 both in Emmett et al. 1991)
Type of Reproduction	Gonochoristic, oviparous, iteroparous External fertilization (Orcutt 1950 in Emmett et al. 1991)
Fecundity	900,000–11,000,000 (Orcutt 1950, Garrison and Miller 1982 both in Emmett et al. 1991,Love 1996)
Spawning Habitat	Some spawn in estuaries (Love 1996)
Time of Year of Spawning	February–April (British Columbia and Washington) (Love 1996) February–April (Puget Sound) (Smith 1936, Hart 1973 both in Emmett et al. 1991)
Spawning/Temperature Relationship (°C)	11 (Alaska Department of Fish and Game 1986 in Emmett et al. 1991)
Description of Eggs	Surface (Love 1996) Pelagic (Orcutt 1950, Garrison and Miller 1982, Wang 1986 all in Emmett et al. 1991)
Days to Hatch	2–15 (Love 1996) 2.8–14.7 (temperature dependant) (Orcutt 1950, Yusa 1957 both in Emmett et al. 1991)
Temperature for Egg Survival (°C)	Dependent (Love 1996)
Salinity for Egg Survival (ppt)	Euhaline to polyhaline (Emmett et al. 1991)
Habitat where Larvae are found	Pelagic (Orcutt 1950, Garrison and Miller 1982, Wang 1986 all in Emmett et al. 1991)
Days in Larval Stage	39–75 days (Policansky 1982b in Emmett et al. 1991) 39–75 days (Love 1996)
Larval Food Preference	Phytoplankton, Zooplankton (Emmett et al. 1991)
Habitat where Juveniles are found	Demersal (Orcutt 1950, Garrison and Miller 1982, Wang 1986 all in Emmett et al. 1991) Can go up rivers (Emmett et al. 1991)
Juvenile Food Preference	Small individuals (less than 10 cm) eat Copepod, Small crustaceans (Emmett et al. 1991) Large individuals eat Amphipods, Isopods, Decapods, Polychaetes, Bivalves, Echinoderms, occasionally Fish (Northern Anchovy) (Orcutt 1950, Miller 1965, Bane and Bane 1971, Jewwett and Feder 1980, McCabe et al. 1983 all in Emmett et al. 1991)
Habitat where Adults are found (depth in meters)	Demersal (Orcutt 1950, Garrison and Miller 1982, Wang 1986 all in Emmett et al. 1991) Mainly marine Sometimes freshwater (Hart 1973, Garrison and Miller 1982 both in Emmett et al. 1991)
Adult Food Preference	Mainly Crab Also Clam, Brittle Star, Fish (Love 1996) Amphipods, Isopods, Decapods, Polychaetes, Bivalves, Echinoderms, occasionally Fish (Northern Anchovy) (Orcutt 1950, Miller 1965, Bane and Bane 1971, Jewwett and Feder 1980, McCabe et al. 1983 all in Emmett et al. 1991)
Commercial Fishery	"Moderate, steady market" (Love 1996) "Moderately important flatfish" (Emmett et al. 1991)
Market	"…not highly regarded as a food fish (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)."
Ornamental Market	In aquarium guide (Burgess et al. 1990)
Parasites or Disease	Endoparasitic flukes, Monogenetic trematodes on gills (Bane and Bane 1971 in Emmett et al. 1991)
Additional Remarks	An individual was caught 75 miles up the Columbia River (Love 1996) Difficult to raise (Burgess et al. 1990)
Location where Species has been Researched/Farmed	This species was raised in the 1980's but was discontinued due to difficulties in cleaning the fish prior to selling it on the market (Rust 2003)

Recent Wild Harvest Data for Oregon
Data from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Year	Total Catch (Pounds)	Ex-vessel Value ( U.S. Dollars)
1989	443,256	133,213
1990	237,846	69,209
1991	718,486	210,693
1992	156,589	49,744
1993	164,210	48,873
1994	138,466	44,459
1995	81,747	26,105
1996	58,972	18,989
1997	118,472	36,460
1998	115,310	44,232

Photograph courtesy of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering To link to their webpage click here.

Photo contributed by: Douglas F. Markle Department of Fisheries & Wildlife Oregon State University

© 2003 Stephen Sempier