Olive Flounder

It reaches a length of 103 cm (41 in) and a weight of 9.1 kg (20 lb). In 2017 its genome and transcriptome was sequenced as a model to study flatfish asymmetry.

The olive flounder is often found in soft and muddy offshore, coastal areas where the water level goes down to 100 m in depth. The temperature of water in these areas range from 21–24 °C or 69–75 °F. Olive flounder typically eat fish spawn, crustaceans, polychaetes, and small fish.

Olive flounder spawn anytime from January through August in shallow water, roughly about 70 cm in depth. The egg and larvae remain that way for about 24–50 days after hatching. Once they begin their metamorphosis process, they move towards more sandy areas and feed on shrimp. After achieving metamorphosis, the flounder move offshore and begin feeding on bigger fish in order to grow to their adult size. Young olive flounder hatch with a bilaterally symmetrical body plan typical of most fish. Over 24 to 50 days, they undergo metamorphosis: the body flattens, one eye migrates to the opposite side of the head, and the fish settles onto its side, living with both eyes facing upward.

Olive flounder is widely eaten as food in East Asia, often raw. Hoe (횟감) is the Korean preparation of raw olive flounder (광어), typically sliced thinly and served with gochujang (red chili paste), sesame oil, and vinegar-based sauces. In Japan, raw olive flounder (ヒラメ, hirame) is served as sushi or sashimi, often with ponzu (citrus-soy sauce) and considered a prized white fish for its firm, clean texture. In China, the olive flounder is a popular culinary fish, commonly prepared steamed with ginger and scallions, braised with soybean paste, or cooked as a collagen-rich fish head soup. Raw consumption of olive flounder carries a risk of Kudoa septempunctata poisoning, causing acute vomiting and diarrhea within hours.

The olive flounder is the most common flatfish species raised in aquaculture in Korea. In 2022, 46,000 tons of oliver flounder was produced in South Korea, representing 50.5% of the total aquaculture production within the country. Although the aquaculture for the olive flounder started from the late 1980s, its commercial production didn't begin on a major scale until the 1990s in Korea. Olive flounder are also farmed in Japan and China as well.