Turbot

{{Short description|Species of flatfish in the family Scophthalmidae}} {{Other uses}} {{Speciesbox | name = Turbot | image = Psetta_maxima_Luc_Viatour.jpg | image_caption = | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Cardinale, M. |author2=Chanet, B. |author3=Martínez Portela, P. |author4=Munroe, T.A. |author5=Nimmegeers, S. |author6=Shlyakhov, V. |author7=Turan, C. |author8=Vansteenbrugge, L. |date=2021 |title=''Scophthalmus maximus'' |volume=2021 |article-number=e.T198731A144939322 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T198731A144939322.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> | taxon = Scophthalmus maximus | authority = (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonyms = {{collapsible list| * ''Pleuronectes cyclops'' Donovan, 1806 * ''Pleuronectes maximus'' Linnaeus, 1758 * ''Pleuronectes turbot'' Lacepède, 1802 * ''Psetta maxima'' (Linnaeus, 1758) * ''Psetta maxima maxima'' (Linnaeus, 1758) * ''Rhombus aculeatus'' Gottsche, 1835 * ''Rhombus magnus'' Minding, 1832 * ''Rhombus maximus'' (Linnaeus, 1758) * ''Rhombus stellosus'' Bennett, 1835 * ''Scophthalmus ponticus'' Ninni, 1932 }}}} [[File:Turbot total production thousand tonnes 1950-2022.svg|thumb|Capture (blue) and aquaculture (green) production of turbot (''Scophthalmus maximus'') in thousand tonnes from 1950 to 2022, as reported by the FAO<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fisheries and Aquaculture - Global Production |url=https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/collection/global_production?lang=en |access-date=2024-05-06 |website=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)}}</ref>]] The '''turbot''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|ɜr|b|ə|t|}} {{respell|TUR|bət}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/turbot |title=turbot |publisher=dictionary.reference.com }}</ref>), '''''Scophthalmus maximus''''', is a relatively large species of flatfish in the family Scophthalmidae. It is a demersal fish native to marine or brackish waters of the Northeast Atlantic, Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. It is an important food fish.<ref name=FishBase>{{FishBase | genus=Psetta | species=maxima | year=2019 | month=December }}</ref> Turbot in the Black Sea were often included in this species, but are now generally regarded as separate: the Black Sea turbot or kalkan (''S. maeoticus'').<ref>{{FishBase genus | genus = Scophthalmus| month = December | year = 2019}}</ref> True turbot are not found in the Northwest Atlantic; the "turbot" of that region, which was involved in the so-called "Turbot War" between Canada and Spain, is the Greenland halibut or Greenland turbot (''Reinhardtius hippoglossoides'').<ref>{{cite book | author=Stephens, T. | year=2009 | title=International Courts and Environmental Protection | pages=212–214 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | isbn=978-0-521-88122-7 }}</ref> The name ''turbot'' can refer to any member of the family Scolopthalmidae, and some other flatfish have similar common names (e.g., spiny turbots of the genus ''Psettodes'').

==Etymology==  The word comes from the Old French {{lang|fro|tourbout}}, which may be a derivative of the Latin {{lang|la|turbo}} ('spinning top'), a possible reference to its shape.<ref>{{cite web |title=turbot, n. |work=OED Online |date=December 2021 |publisher=Oxford University Press |url= https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/207569?redirectedFrom=turbot |access-date= January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Another possible origin of the Old French word is from Old Swedish {{lang|non|törnbut}}, from {{lang|non|törn}} 'thorn' + {{lang|non|-but}} 'stump, butt, flatfish', which may also be a reference to its shape (compare native English halibut).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=turbot |title=turbot |work=Online Etymology Dictionary}}</ref> Early reference to the turbot can be found in a satirical poem ("The Emperor's Fish") by Juvenal, a Roman poet of the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD, suggesting this fish was a delicacy in the Roman empire.

==Description== The turbot is a large left eyed flatfish found primarily close to shore in sandy shallow waters throughout the Mediterranean, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, and the North Atlantic. The European turbot has an asymmetric disk-shaped body, and has been known to grow up to {{convert|1|m|in|-1|spell=in|abbr=off}} long and {{convert|55|lb|kg|order=flip|abbr=off}} in weight.<ref name=FishBase/><ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Turbot|volume=27}}</ref>

==Fisheries== Turbot is highly prized as a food fish for its delicate flavour, and is also known as '''brat''', '''breet''', or '''britt'''. It is a valuable commercial species, acquired through aquaculture and trawling. Turbot are farmed in Bulgaria, Canada, France, Spain, Portugal, Romania, Turkey, Chile, Norway, and China.<ref>[http://www.seafood-portal.com/Fish_Products/Psetta_maxima:Turbot ''Psetta Maxima''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110223200309/http://www.seafood-portal.com/Fish_Products/Psetta_maxima:Turbot |date=2011-02-23 }} Seafood Portal</ref>

Turbot has a bright white flesh that retains this appearance when cooked. Like all flatfish, turbot yields four fillets with meatier topside portions that may be baked, poached, steamed, or pan-fried.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Wiktionary|turbot}} {{Commons category|Scophthalmus maximus|''Scophthalmus maximus''}} * {{ITIS|id=616195|taxon=''Scophthalmus maximus'' (Linnaeus, 1758)}}

Category:Commercial fish Category:Fish described in 1758 Category:Fish of the Mediterranean Sea Category:Marine fish of Europe Category:Scophthalmus Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus