European flounder the males when they measure and the females when they measure . The European flounder sometimes hybridises with European plaice ("Pleuronectes platessa") and, particularly in the western Baltic Sea, the hybrid is common. The European flounder is used for human consumption but is not so highly esteemed as the European plaice or common sole ("Solea solea"). The most important fisheries are in the Baltic Sea and the waters around the Netherlands and Denmark. In 2010, the total world catch was about nineteen thousand tonnes, mostly caught by bottom trawling. The fish is marketed fresh and frozen and can be fried,
Flatfish be a valid species in its own right. Flatfishes are found in oceans worldwide, ranging from the Arctic, through the tropics, to Antarctica. Most species are found in depths between 0 and , but a few have been recorded from depths in excess of . None have been confirmed from the abyssal or hadal zones. An observation of a flatfish from the Bathyscaphe Trieste at the bottom of the Mariana Trench at a depth of almost has been questioned by fish experts, and recent authorities do not recognize it as valid. Among the deepwater species, "Symphurus thermophilus" lives in congregating