Plainfin Midshipmen in San Francisco Bay

Starry Flounder (Platichthys stellatus)

---

Distribution of starry flounder in San Francisco Bay

---

Starry flounder are estuarine flatfish which range from Santa Barbara, California north to Arctic Alaska, and in the eastern Pacific to the Sea of Japan. They are common in coastal areas and estuaries at depths of less than one to 274 m. Starry flounder reach a maximum size of about 915 mm TL, and are a minor, non-targeted component of the commercial bottom trawl catch. They are more important to recreational fisheries in bays and estuaries.

The abundance of starry flounder in the Bay has been related to freshwater outflow during the winter and spring preceding their first entry into the Bay. Freshwater outflow has been hypothesized to provide a means for spawners and YOY to locate the Bay, and to create nursery habitat for YOY. Both YOY and older starry flounder inhabit brackish water areas and these areas increase in size with increased outflow. A reduction in freshwater outflow associated with the drought (1987-1992) is probably one factor associated with the decline in starry flounder in the Bay since the mid-1980s.

Annual abundance indices for the starry flounder are generated by the San Francisco Bay Monitoring Program using otter trawl data.