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The megrim, megrim sole, whiff, or Cornish sole (''Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis'') is a species of left-eyed
flatfish A flatfish is a member of the Ray-finned fish, ray-finned demersal fish order (biology), order Pleuronectiformes, also called the Heterosomata, sometimes classified as a suborder of Perciformes. In many species, both eyes lie on one side of the ...
in the family
Scophthalmidae The Scophthalmidae are a family of flatfish found in the North Atlantic Ocean, Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and Black Sea.Chanet, B. (2003)Interrelationships of scophthalmid fishes (Pleuronectiformes: Scopththalmidae).''Cybium'' 27(4) 275-86. ...
. It is found in the northeast Atlantic and
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
between below sea level. It is caught commercially by some countries.


Description

It can grow up to in length. It is left-eyed, has a slightly larger head than usual in flatfish, and with a narrower body than usual. The dorsal and ventral fins are relatively short and start far back on the body. The colouration is usually light brown with dark spots across the body and dark grey fins. It lacks the highly distinct dark spots found on the fins in its close relative, the four-spot megrim (''L. boscii'').


Habitat

The megrim is usually found over a sandy or muddy sea floor. They are predators and eat small fish and squid and also consume crustaceans. In turn megrim are themselves prey for larger species such as sharks, seals and large cod. Megrim spawn in deep waters off
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and the west of Ireland, while there is a separate spawning population in the Mediterranean.


Range

This species is found throughout European waters and the Northeast Atlantic including the
Sea of the Hebrides The Sea of the Hebrides ( gd, An Cuan Barrach, ) is a small, partly sheltered section of the North Atlantic Ocean, indirectly off the southern part of the north-west coast of Scotland. To the east are the mainland of Scotland and the northern I ...
. Megrim are also found off the north coast of Africa and in parts of the Mediterranean.


Commercial value

Megrim are commercially valuable and are caught by a number of nations around Europe. It is caught by bottom
trawling Trawling is a method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net used for trawling is called a trawl. This principle requires netting bags which are towed through water to catch different spec ...
and is directly targeted in some fisheries, whereas in others it is retained as a valuable bycatch. France and Spain are the largest consumers of this species with most of the megrim caught in British water being exported to these nations. However, there has been a drive in Britain to get people to eat more megrim as a way of taking pressure off overexploited fish such as cod and haddock. Megrim can be cooked in a number of different ways with grilling, baking, frying and poaching all effective ways of preparing this species. It has been described as being similar to sole or plaice in terms of preparation, but not being comparable in terms of flavour or texture. In the UK, megrim has been given the alternative name of Cornish sole as a way of making this species, most of the UK catch of which was formerly exported to the
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, more appealing to UK consumers after
Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
.


References


Further reading

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1371617 Scophthalmidae Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Fish of Europe Fish described in 1792 Taxa named by Johann Julius Walbaum