Gulf flounder (Paralichthys albigutta) is a saltwater species recorded in the United States. It is mainly found over sand, estuary, at depths of 20–40 m.
Scientific name: Paralichthys albigutta · Water: Saltwater
Size: up to 71 cm
The Gulf flounder (Paralichthys albigutta) is a saltwater flatfish of the family Paralichthyidae that swims on its side and lies camouflaged on the sea floor to ambush its prey. It is widely distributed in the Gulf of Mexico and part of the western North Atlantic, with its centre of abundance along the northeastern Gulf coast, and it is both commercially and recreationally exploited as a food fish; abundance in the northern Gulf declined between 1970 and 2000. Adults spend most of the year in bays and estuaries and migrate into deeper offshore water to spawn in fall and winter, peaking between late October and mid-December, with ripe fish collected at 20–40 m in the eastern Gulf and larvae moving inshore during January and February. Females mature at about one year, with all mature by two years and 50% maturity at 35–38 cm TL, while males mature between 30 and 35 cm TL. It is a common sport fish in the United States, readily caught on dead fish such as mullet, live bait, or artificial and frozen baits including shrimp and clams, and Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission stock assessments now inform management of the Gulf and southern flounder fisheries.
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