The summer flounder, also known by the “fluke” is a flatfish inhabited along coastal waters and can be found in the southern Gulf of Maine and then in Florida. The summer flounder has both of their two eyes on one side of their head, whereas the other side faces down to the ocean floor. Summer flounders are known for their names “chameleons of the sea” because they have the ability to camouflage and change color depending on what …show more content…
The amount of eggs composed in a certain spawning season directly depends on the female’s particular weight and size. For example, a female that is 14 inches could potentially produce 460,000 eggs, however a female that is 27 inches could probably produce, on average 4, 200,000 eggs in any given spawning season. Reproduction for the summer flounder usually takes place in the fall months, right as the flounders initiate migration. September through November is typically the months where the summer flounder reproduces the most rapid. Around this time, this is when the temperature of the water is somewhere around 11-18°C. The summer flounder tends to reproduce in depths reaching from about 60 to 160 feet. The center of reproduction happens typically in New England waters rather than off the coasts of New York and New Jersey because the water is less concentrated with activity. After being laid, the eggs float around in a “water column” and typically, the eggs hatch after 72-75 …show more content…
Juvenile summer flounders eat small shrimp and other small crustaceans. Adult summer flounders eat small winter flounder, menhaden, sand lace, red hake, silversides, bluefish, weakfish and mummichogs. They also eat invertebrates such as squid, opossum shrimp, mollusks, blue cram and sand shrimp. Adults attack very often and are very hard to steer clear from. Generally, adult summer flounders chase schools of fish until they catch a couple. They typically chase the school of fish up to the surface of the water and even sometimes leaping through the surface in order to catch a few. For the majority of flatfish, they are not as active as the summer flounder and their behavior differentiates them from any other species of flatfish out