Lemon Sole

The lemon sole is a right-eyed flatfish in the family Pleuronectidae, native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, including the North Sea, waters around the British Isles, and the coasts of Scandinavia and Iceland. Despite its common name, it is not a true sole (family Soleidae) but is more closely related to dabs, plaice, and flounders. The species is named for its smooth, slippery, slightly yellowish-brown skin rather than any citrus association. It is a demersal fish that lives on the seabed of the continental shelf, and it has long been a familiar species in European commercial fisheries, with a distinctive small mouth and thick, mucus-covered skin that set it apart from most other regional flatfish.

• Oval, thick-bodied flatfish with a small head and very small mouth
• Upper (eyed) side is smooth, reddish-brown to greenish-brown with darker and lighter marbled blotches
• Skin is notably slimy/mucus-covered compared to related species
• Underside is white
• Lateral line is nearly straight, running the length of the body
• Adults typically reach 25-40 cm

The small mouth and thick, slippery skin distinguish it from dabs and plaice, which have rougher skin and larger mouths, and from true soles, which have a more elongated, rounded snout overhanging a curved mouth.

Lemon sole are found on the continental shelf of the northeastern Atlantic, from the Barents Sea and Iceland south to the Bay of Biscay, including the North Sea and waters around the British Isles. They live on the seabed at depths from about 10 to 200 meters, favoring firm sand, gravel, or mixed rocky-sand bottoms rather than soft mud. The species prefers cool, temperate shelf waters and is most commonly encountered at moderate depths where currents keep the substrate relatively clean.

Lemon sole are solitary, bottom-dwelling fish that rest on the seabed by day, relying on their mottled coloration for camouflage against predators. They feed primarily on small invertebrates such as bristle worms, brittle stars, and small mollusks, using their small, specialized mouth to pick prey from crevices in gravel or rocky sand. Spawning takes place in spring and early summer over shelf habitat, with females releasing pelagic eggs that drift with currents before hatching. Larvae remain in the water column for a period before undergoing metamorphosis and settling to the bottom as juveniles, taking on the flattened adult body form.