 English Sole (Pleuronectes vetulus)
 Distribution of english sole in San
Francisco Bay
English sole are marine flatfish that range from
San Cristobal Bay, Baja California to Northwest Alaska.
They are common in coastal areas between 18 and 305 m and
reach a maximum length of approximately 570 mm TL. English sole are
an important component of the commercial bottom trawl fishery through
most of their range and are sometimes taken by recreational fishermen.
Spawning occurs in coastal marine waters primarily from September through April,
although some spawning can occur throughout the year. In California, spawning
takes place primarily during January and February.
Similar to their behavior in other estuaries, English sole appear to use the
Bay as a nursery area, entering as transforming larvae or small juveniles during
the winter-summer of their first year of life and emigrating sometime between the
end of their first or second summer in the Bay.
Annual abundance indices young-of-the-year English sole are generated from the San Francisco Bay Monitoring Program
using otter trawl data.
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