European plaice European plaice The European plaice ("Pleuronectes platessa") is a commercially important flatfish. The geographical range of the European plaice is off all coasts from the Barents Sea to the Mediterranean, also in the Northeast Atlantic and off Greenland. In some locales such as the Irish Sea this species is considered fully exploited by commercial fishing. It is a common flatfish, occurring on the sandy and muddy bottoms of the European shelf, usually at depths between 10 and 50 m, where they tend to burrow in sediment during day time and remain stationary for long periods. They can be found at
RV Platessa in survey logbooks, collected in 1931, 1937, 1946–50, and 1968. These historical measurements have revealed that the ‘sechhi depth’ was much deeper (and therefore water more transparent) in the past compared to today, and thus that the North Sea has become much more turbid. The Suffolk Record Office holds a photograph captioned ""survey ship "Platessa" LT 205 in Lowestoft harbour after being escorted back by the Gorleston lifeboat Khami having sprung a leak whilst working in the Smiths Knoll area"", dated 5th October 1968 (after leaving MAFF service). RV Platessa RV "Platessa" (LT205) was a fisheries research vessel that was