It is a popular sport fish and is the largest and most commercially valuable flounder in the western North Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.

Southern flounder feed on the bottom of the ocean and in the water column, and are considered to be near-top predators in their benthic environment.

[5] Juvenile southern flounder stay in estuaries, and most leave to spawn offshore during the fall and winter as adults.

[4] The annual growth cycle of the southern flounder starts in the spring and ends in the fall as the water temperature decreases.

[8] This species is listed by the IUCN as near threatened due to both commercial and recreational overfishing, and mortality from the shrimp trawl industry.

This practice is very hazardous due to the possibility of stepping on submerged sharp objects or of impaling dangerous stingrays, which also frequent shallow waters and may be mistaken for flounder.

[3] Southern flounder are also considered valuable as an aquaculture species because of their ability to live in water of varying salinities.