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Dieren en planten

Fish   Flatfish   Sole   Plaice   Dab   Marine fauna   The fauna coastal waters   Fauna in tidal areas   Fish   

Dab

size:

up to 40 centimeters

weight:

up to 1 kilogram

color:

topside sandy colored, underside white

age:

up to 5 years

food:

worms, shellfish, crustaceans

movement:

swims

enemies:

people, seals

reproduction:

sexual

  • Dut: Schar (grote klap, kok, krit, ruwe schol)
  • Lat: Limanda limanda
  • Eng: Dab (common dab)
  • Ger: Kliesche (Scharbe)
  • Fren: Limande (limande commune)
  • Dan: Ising
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Dab, Ecomare

Dab

Dab have eyes on the right side of their body, just like plaice and flounder. They are found in large numbers on the bottom of the Wadden and North Seas. Dab is not a popular consumption fish in the Netherlands and is even referred to as the 'weeds of the sea'. In earlier days, you could see dab hanging on lines to dry in the wind in fishing villages. This was an unusual delicacy. Nowadays, dab is an export fish for Japan, where it is much more valued!

  • Schar as consumption fish

    In 1983, approximately five thousand tons of dab were landed from Dutch waters. Despite its tastiness and for some unknown reason, the Dutch do not eat much dab. Since the 1990s, there has been a market for dab filet. Japanese are wild about this fish. The fish are cut into filets, frozen in the Netherlands and sent to the Japanese market. In those days, an estimated 10,500 tons of dab filet were exported to Japan. However, the market price toppled at the end of 1997 due to the devaluation of the yen, the rise in rival fish species and too much supply from the Netherlands. In England, the fish in 'Fish and Chips' is dab (and whiting), eaten together with chips, salt and vinegar.

  • Distribution
    Distribution of dab, Ecomare

    Dab are common along the Dutch coast. Elsewhere, it is found along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean north of Spain, the North Sea and the southern Baltic Sea.