PRODUCTION & SURVIVAL
Predation & Competition.
Plaice are eaten by cod, halibut, Greenland
sharks, and possibly other large fish.
In the Gulf of St. Lawrence there is competition
for food between cod and
plaice, especially among smaller fish.
Plaice were also observed to be
preyed upon by large cod during summer months.
Parasites and Disease. Many species
of parasites have been reported in
American plaice. There were variations in
trematode infections. The species
of parasites are : 3 protozoans, 15 trematodes,
2 cestodes, 7 nematodes
(including the sealworm), 3 acanthocephalans,
and 2 copepods.
Lymphocystis infection of eastern Grand Bank
plaice is an infection by blood
parasites in specimens from Labrador -
Newfoundland area.
Large American plaice are sometimes found where
the tissue or meat is pellucid
and jelly-like. The condition is not
caused by disease but by a withdrawal of
protein from the tissue because of gonad development.