the.com/groundfish
Fish too humble or dead to swim at the dinner party's surface — they live on the floor.
means A fish species (like cod, halibut, or flounder) that lives and feeds near the sea bottom, as opposed to species that swim in open water higher up.
from Straightforward compound of 'ground' + 'fish,' a working term from the fishing industry — no hidden trick here. It emerged to distinguish bottom-dwellers (cod, haddock, flatfish) from 'pelagic' fish like herring and tuna that school near the surface, because the two groups are caught with completely different gear: trawls dragged along the seabed versus nets set in open water.
- definition
- species that live and feed near the seafloor
- examples
- cod, halibut, flounder, haddock, pollock
- fishing method
- usually caught by bottom trawling nets
- contrast
- opposite of pelagic fish like tuna or mackerel