Dab 323 



Economic Importance: An excellent food fish but no 

 longer abundant enough to be of great importance in the 

 commercial fisheries. 



Dab 

 Hippoglossoides platessoides (Fabricius) 



Color: Eyed side: gray-brown or red-brown. Blind side: 



white. 



Distribution: Occurs on both sides of the North Atlantic. 



In the American Atlantic it is found from Labrador to 



Cape Cod and as a straggler south of Cape Cod to New 



York. 



Size: Maximum length reported was about 2% feet, with 



a weight of 14 pounds. 



General Information: The Dab is a cold-water species found 



on the bottom from the shallow waters near shore down 



to depths of over 2,300 feet. It spawns in spring and 



30,000 to 60,000 eggs are produced by each female. The 



eggs are buoyant and hatch in about 2 weeks at a water 



temperature of 39 degrees. The Dab feeds on a wide variety 



of bottom forms of animals, including worms, crustaceans, 



and sea urchins. 



Economic Importance: A good food fish common in the 



catch of the otter trawl fishery north of Cape Cod. 



