Large winter flounder (Pleuronectes americanus) that weigh 3 lbs or more are called lemon sole. At the present time, lemon sole are virtually unavailable commercially despite their high value and large market demand. Instead, production from the winter flounder fishery are mostly limited to fillets from the seasonal capture of smaller blackback fish. Despite extensive knowledge of the biology of winter flounder, no commercial technology allowing for large scale production of winter flounder from broodstock is currently available.This proposal is focused on the development of further improvements in new technology that permits the live capture of legal size blackback winter flounder when fish are abundant and prices low. These blackback flounder are then "pounded" in temperature controlled recycling water systems containing electrolyte solutions with compositions distinct from that of seawater. After their subsequent growth and nonchemical "finishing" to improve the taste, texture and size of fillets, winter flounder are now twice their original weight and can be resold as high priced live lemon sole on the retail market approximately 5-8 months later. This effort is enhanced by recent discoveries regarding the mechanisms that control the "sensing" and euryhaline adaptation of winter flounder to different water salinities.
Anticipated Results/Potential Commercial Applications of Research::The overall goal of this effort is to pound wild caught blackback winter flounder and create significant value-added to the winter flounder fishery where live lemon sole will be available on a year round basis to the retail market. Preliminary cost analysis of the proposed technology suggest that its application will provide value added of approximately 5-8 times the price of the original fish. It is envisioned that winter flounder pounding facilities will be located near fishing communities and thus represent a significant new source of jobs and income to both urban and rural Atlantic coastal areas.
