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Dover sole:professional buying guide, season, size grades 1 to 5, fish auctions and substitutes

Dover sole for the trade: season, EU size grades 1 to 5, French fish auctions, net or trawl, freshness, yield and substitutes (wedge sole, lemon sole).

Updated 6 min readLiveCriée editorial team

Contents
  1. Buying sheet
  2. Which size grade of sole to choose?
  3. How to judge the freshness of a sole?
  4. What are the buying pitfalls?
  5. What to replace sole with?
  6. What makes the price of sole move?
  7. Frequently asked questions

Dover sole, or common sole (sole commune; Solea solea), is a bottom-dwelling flatfish caught mainly by net and trawl in the Bay of Biscay, the English Channel and the North Sea; third species of French fish auctions by value, it is sold by size grade, from 1 (500 g and over) to 5 (120 to 200 g), on a European scale. Lemon sole (limande-sole), wedge sole (céteau) and sand sole (sole-pôle) are other species, sold under their own names and cheaper.

Buying sheet

Dover sole
Scientific nameSolea solea (synonym Solea vulgaris)
Peak seasonFrom winter to early spring, with a peak in March; a second high point in October. In 2024, March weighed three times a summer month in auction sales
Closed seasonNo closure specific to sole. Quotas by stock. In the Bay of Biscay, vessels of 8 m and over working with gillnets or trammel nets, pelagic or pair trawls, or pelagic seines stay in port for one month in winter (from 22 January to 20 February from 2024 to 2026; in 2027, thirty consecutive days, chosen by each vessel owner between 15 January and 27 February 2027 and declared before 1 December 2026, or, failing a declaration, from 22 January to 20 February 2027; French order of 9 September 2026)
EU size grades1: 500 g and over; 2: 330 to 500 g; 3: 250 to 330 g; 4: 200 to 250 g; 5: 120 to 200 g. Minimum size: 24 cm (20 cm in the Mediterranean)
Main French fish auctions (2024)2,679 t sold at auction. Les Sables-d'Olonne 22%, Oléron 10%, Arcachon 8%, Noirmoutier 8%, Lorient 5%, Fécamp 5%, Royan 4%
OriginsNorth-East Atlantic (FAO area 27): Bay of Biscay (ICES divisions 8a and 8b), English Channel, North Sea; also Mediterranean (FAO area 37)
Fishing methodsGillnet and trammel net (netters, the majority in the Bay of Biscay), beam trawl (North Sea, eastern Channel), bottom trawl
Yield50% as fillets for a 680 g sole (Seafish)
StorageWhole, gutted, flat under melting ice (0 to 2 °C)

National rhythm of auction sales (FranceAgriMer, 2024); it varies from one port to another. Size grades: Regulation (EC) No 2406/96, Annex II, still in force. The regulation states 0.25 to 0.35 kg for category 3, which overlaps category 2; we use 0.33. Tonnage and shares calculated by the editorial team from the sales declared at French fish auctions in 2024 (FranceAgriMer, workbook published on 2 July 2026).

  • 2,679 tsold at French fish auctions in 2024
  • €19.20/kgapproximate average auction price
  • 3rdspecies of French fish auctions by value

Source: FranceAgriMer, sales declared at fish auctions in 2024.

Which size grade of sole to choose?

The size grade is chosen by the plate, not by the price per kilo:

  • Whole portion sole, meunière: size grades 3 and 4 (200 to 330 g). One sole per cover.
  • Sole for two, or carved in the dining room: size grades 1 and 2.
  • Fillets: large size grades give thicker fillets, which hold up in cooking.
  • Size grade 5 ("solette"): frying, bistro dishes, or as a replacement for wedge sole.

Sole yields about 50% as fillets. For 140 g of fillets per plate, allow 280 g of whole sole: a size grade 3 sole.

How to judge the freshness of a sole?

  • Dark side bright brown and shiny, covered with clear, abundant slime: a fresh sole "slips" between the fingers.
  • White side pearly, without red or pink spots (bruises, net marks).
  • Rigid body, thick to the touch, red gills, bright eye.
  • Smell clean and of the sea. A yellowed white side or thick, dull slime signal a tired fish.

What are the buying pitfalls?

  • False soles. Lemon sole (Microstomus kitt), sand sole, wedge sole or thickback sole (sole perdrix) are not Dover sole. On a price list or a menu, the name must be exact.
  • The rounded size grade. A difference of one size grade changes the number of soles per kilo, and therefore the cost of the portion. Weigh a few pieces on receipt.
  • The winter dip. The winter closure in the Bay of Biscay keeps part of the netters in port for a month: less Biscay sole on price lists. Plan ahead for a change of origin or of menu.

What to replace sole with?

UseSubstituteNote
Meunière, whole portionWedge sole, sand solesmaller, cheaper, same family
Poached or rolled filletsLemon sole, plaicesofter flesh, cheaper
Thick fillets, fine plateBrill, chicken turbot (turbotin)comparable fillet yield (50%)

What makes the price of sole move?

Average first-sale price at auction, France, 2024Dover sole
Yearly averageabout €19.20/kg
Cheapest monthMarch: about €16.50/kg
Most expensive monthSeptember: about €23.20/kg
Spread between auctionsfrom €17.90/kg (Oléron) to €20.70/kg (Lorient)

Year 2024, all French fish auctions: average first-sale price at the auction hall, all size grades combined (FranceAgriMer, sales declared at fish auctions, workbook published on 2 July 2026). Spread between auctions: among those handling at least 5% of sole volumes. The auction price is not the price paid to the fish merchant: processing, transport and margin are added to it.

The price of sole moves against its landings. In March 2024, the auctions sold 562 t of it, two and a half times an average month, at the lowest price of the year; from June to September, sales stayed between 139 and 158 t a month and the price above €21.50/kg, up to about €23.20/kg in September, the quietest month. The second high point in October (262 t) brought it back down to about €17.10/kg. 2025 shows the same profile, with March still the cheapest month. For a menu, sole is therefore best worked from winter to spring and in October. The spread of about €3/kg between auctions may come from the size grades, gears and outlets of each auction hall: it does not measure the price of the same sole from one port to another.

  • The season: plentiful in winter and spring, scarcer and more expensive in summer. In 2024, the average auction price was at its highest from July to September.
  • The size grade: size grades 1 and 2 cost more per kilo.
  • The fishing method and condition: an intact, well-bled net-caught sole is worth more than a damaged one.
  • Closures: a one-month stop for part of the Bay of Biscay netters tightens the market in winter.
  • The holidays and restaurant demand at the end of the year.

Frequently asked questions

When is sole in season?

Sole is caught all year round, but landings are highest from winter to early spring, with a peak in March, and again in October. In summer, it is scarcer and more expensive.

What do sole size grades mean?

The European scale runs from 1 (500 g and over) to 5 (120 to 200 g): 2 from 330 to 500 g, 3 from 250 to 330 g, 4 from 200 to 250 g. A single-portion sole generally corresponds to size grades 3 or 4.

Is lemon sole a sole?

No. Lemon sole (Microstomus kitt) is another flatfish, with softer, cheaper flesh. It replaces sole well in poached fillets, not in sole meunière.

What is the auction price of sole in France?

In 2024, about €19.20/kg on average at first sale in French fish auctions, all size grades combined, from about €16.50/kg in March to about €23.20/kg in September (FranceAgriMer). Large size grades cost more per kilo; the price paid to the fish merchant adds processing, transport and margin.

What is the fillet yield of sole?

About 50% of the whole weight for a 680 g sole (Seafish): to be measured on the size grades you buy.

Sources

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