European seabass | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Acanthuriformes |
Family: | Moronidae |
Genus: | Dicentrarchus |
Species: | D. labrax |
Binomial name | |
Dicentrarchus labrax | |
Distribution of European seabass | |
Synonyms | |
click to expand
|
The European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax), also known as the branzino, European bass, sea bass, common bass, white bass, capemouth, white salmon, sea perch, white mullet, sea dace or loup de mer, is a primarily ocean-going fish native to the waters off Europe's western and southern and Africa's northern coasts, though it can also be found in shallow coastal waters and river mouths during the summer months and late autumn. It is one of only six species in its family, Moronidae, collectively called the temperate basses.
It is fished and raised commercially and is considered the most important fish currently cultured in the Mediterranean. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, the popular restaurant fish sold and consumed as sea bass is exclusively the European bass. [2] In North America, it is widely known by one of its Italian names, branzino. [3]
European seabass is a slow-growing species that takes several years to reach adulthood. An adult European seabass usually weighs around 2.5 kg (5.5 lb). European seabass can reach measurements of up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in length and 12 kg (26 lb) in weight, though the most common size is only about half of that at 0.5 m (1 ft 8 in). Individuals are silvery grey and sometimes a dark-bluish color on the back.
Juveniles form schools and feed on invertebrates, while adults are less social and prefer to consume other fish. They are generally found in the littoral zone near the banks of rivers, lagoons, and estuaries during the summer and migrate offshore during the winter. European sea bass feed on prawns, crabs and small fish. Though it is a sought-after gamefish, it is listed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature because it is widespread and there are no known major threats.
The European seabass was first described in 1758 by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus in his work Systema Naturae . He named it Perca labrax. In the century and a half following, it was classified under a variety of new synonyms, with Dicentrarchus labrax winning out as the accepted name in 1987. Its generic name, Dicentrarchus, derives from Greek, from the presence of two anal spines, "di" meaning two, "kentron" meaning sting, and "archos" meaning anus. The European bass is sold under dozens of common names in various languages. In the British Isles, it is known as the "European bass," "European seabass," "common bass," "capemouth," "king of the mullets," "sea bass," "sea dace," "sea perch," "white mullet," "white salmon," or simply "bass". [4]
Phylogenetic tree of Moronidae based on the mt-nd6 protein [5] |
There are two genetically distinct populations of wild European seabass. The first is found in the northeast Atlantic Ocean, and the second is in the western Mediterranean Sea. The two populations are separated by a relatively narrow distance in a region known as the Almeria-Oran oceanographic front, located east of the Spanish city of Almería. The exact reason for this separation is unknown, as the geographic divide should not account for the lack of gene flow between the two populations. The larval stage of the European seabass can last up to 3 months, during which it cannot swim well, and even a small amount of water flow should transport some individuals between the two regions. In addition, juveniles can survive temperature and salinity changes, and adults can migrate hundreds of miles. [6]
European seabass habitats include estuaries, lagoons, coastal waters, and rivers. It is found in a large part of the eastern Atlantic Ocean, from southern Norway to Senegal. It can also be found in the entire Mediterranean Sea and in the southern Black Sea but is absent from the Baltic Sea. [1] It has entered the Red Sea through the Suez Canal as an anti-Lessepsian migrant. [7] It is a seasonally migratory species, moving further winter spawning grounds during at least one month before moving towards their summer feeding areas. [8]
The European seabass hunts as much during the day as it does at night, feeding on small fish (both pelagic, such as sardines, sprats, and sand smelts, and demersal, such as sand eels), polychaetes, cephalopods (such as squid), and crustaceans. [9] The big fish weighing more than 4 kg (8.8 lb) are mostly night hunters. They spawn from February to June, [9] mostly in inshore waters. As fry they are pelagic, but as they develop, they move into estuaries, where they stay for a year or two. [10]
Annual catches of wild European seabass are relatively modest, fluctuating between 8,500 and 11,900 tonnes from 2000 to 2009. Most reported catches originate from the Atlantic Ocean, with France typically reporting the highest catches. In the Mediterranean, Italy used to report the largest catches but has been surpassed by Egypt. [11]
The fish has come under increasing pressure from commercial fishing and became the focus in the United Kingdom of a conservation effort by recreational anglers. [12] The Republic of Ireland has strict laws regarding bass. All commercial fishing for the species is banned, and several restrictions are in place for recreational anglers: a closed season from May 15 – June 15 inclusive every year; a minimum size of 400 mm (16 in); and a bag limit of two fish per day. In a scientific advisory (June 2013), it is stressed that fishing mortality is increasing. The total biomass has been declining since 2005. Total biomass assumed as the best stock size indicator in the last two years (2011–2012) was 32% lower than the total biomass in the three previous years (2008–2010). [13]
European seabass was one of Europe's first fish to be farmed commercially. Historically, they were cultured in coastal lagoons and tidal reservoirs before mass-production techniques were developed in the late 1960s. It is the most important commercial fish widely cultured in the Mediterranean. Greece, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Croatia, and Egypt are the most important farming countries. Annual production was more than 120,000 tonnes in 2010. [14] The world's biggest producer of European seabass is Turkey. [15]
Branzino, sometimes known as "spigola" in southern Italy, is popular in Italian cuisine as a main course. It is often prepared by roasting the entire fish and serving it with lemon. The meat is often desired because of its sweet taste and flaky white texture. [16] In French it is sometimes known as "barr" or "loup de mar", and in Spanish it is often referred to as "robalo". Each time the whole fish is cooked and plated. [17]
Bass is a generic common name shared by many species of ray-finned fish from the large clade Percomorpha, mainly belonging to the orders Perciformes and Moroniformes, encompassing both freshwater and marine species. The word bass comes from Middle English bars, meaning "perch", despite that none of the commonly referred bass species belong to the perch family Percidae.
Sea bass is a common name for a variety of different species of marine fish. Many fish species of various families have been called sea bass.
A dace is a small fish that can be one of many different species. The unmodified name is usually a reference to the common dace. This, like most fish called "daces", belongs to the family Cyprinidae, mostly in subfamily Leuciscinae.
The Moronidae is a family of percomorph fishes, commonly called the temperate basses, in the order Moroniformes. These fishes are found in the freshwaters of North America and the coastal waters of the North Atlantic.
Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes. They occupy the sea floors and lake beds, which usually consist of mud, sand, gravel or rocks. In coastal waters, they are found on or near the continental shelf, and in deep waters, they are found on or near the continental slope or along the continental rise. They are not generally found in the deepest waters, such as abyssal depths or on the abyssal plain, but they can be found around seamounts and islands. The word demersal comes from the Latin demergere, which means to sink.
The flathead grey mullet is an important food fish species in the mullet family Mugilidae. It is found in coastal temperate, tropical and subtropical waters worldwide. Its length is typically 30 to 75 centimetres. It is known with numerous English names, including the flathead mullet, striped mullet, black mullet, bully mullet, common mullet, grey mullet, sea mullet and mullet, among others.
The white grouper is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. The white grouper is found in the subtropical eastern Atlantic Ocean and the southern Mediterranean Sea.
The Lessepsian migration is the migration of marine species along the Suez Canal, usually from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and more rarely in the opposite direction. When the canal was completed in 1869, fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and other marine animals and plants were exposed to an artificial passage between the two naturally separate bodies of water, and cross-contamination was made possible between formerly isolated ecosystems. The phenomenon is still occurring today. It is named after Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French diplomat in charge of the canal's construction. The term was originally coind by professor Francis Dov Por in his book "Lessepsian Migration: The Influx of Red Sea Biota Into the Mediterranean by Way of the Suez Canal"
Argyrosomus regius, also known as the meagre, croaker, jewfish, shade-fish, sowa, kir, corvina, salmon-bass or stone bass, is a species of fish of the family Sciaenidae. This large fish has a pearly-silver to brownish coloration and a yellow-coloured mouth. It is native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Mediterranean and Black Seas.
Paralabrax clathratus, the kelp bass, bull bass or calico bass, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea bass from the subfamily Serraninae, classified as part of the family Serranidae which includes the groupers and anthias. It is found in the eastern North Pacific Ocean where it is an important species for both recreational and commercial fisheries.
Paralichthys lethostigma, the southern flounder, is a species of large-tooth flounder native to the East Coast of the United States and the northern Gulf of Mexico. 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. It is a "left-eyed flounder", meaning the left side is pigmented and is the "up side".
Trachinotus ovatus, the pompano which is also known as the derbio or silverfish, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Carangidae, the jacks. It has large, strong fins. It is common in the Mediterranean Sea, and in the Atlantic Ocean from the British Isles and Scandinavia, where it is a vagrant, to the Gulf of Guinea and Angola.
The golden grey mullet is a fish in the family Mugilidae.
The thinlip mullet is a species of fish in the family Mugilidae. It is found in shallow European waters and is a migratory species.
Offshore aquaculture, also known as open water aquaculture or open ocean aquaculture, is an emerging approach to mariculture where fish farms are positioned in deeper and less sheltered waters some distance away from the coast, where the cultivated fish stocks are exposed to more naturalistic living conditions with stronger ocean currents and more diverse nutrient flow. Existing "offshore" developments fall mainly into the category of exposed areas rather than fully offshore. As maritime classification society DNV GL has stated, development and knowledge-building are needed in several fields for the available deeper water opportunities to be realized.
The spotted seabass is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Moronidae, the temperate basses. This species is found in the marine and brackish waters of the coastal eastern Atlantic Ocean from the English Channel to the Canary Islands and Senegal, as well as through the Mediterranean Sea.
Dicentrarchus is a genus of ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Moronidae, the temperate basses. The two species in this genus are found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The species in this genus are economically important food fishes.
Beymelek Lagoon is a lagoon on the Mediterranean coast, which is used as a fishery, in Antalya Province, southwestern Turkey. It is named after the village of Beymelek, which is located to the west of the water body. The lagoon is situated in the Demre ilçe (district) of Antalya Province at coordinates 36°16′N30°03′E.
Ceratothoa oestroides is a crustacean isopod, obligate ectoparasite of marine fish that dwells in the buccal cavity. It is the causative agent of various pathologies including tissue damage at the parasitisation site (tongue), growth defects, decrease in mean host weight and size and increases mortalities in farmed and wild fish populations. It has been recorded in six different fish families: Sparidae, Carangidae, Clupeidae, Maenidae, Scorpenidae, and Mugilidae.
A third of fishing in Turkey is commercial fishing from wild fisheries but most is aquaculture. In 2018, the seafood sector provided employment for 53 thousand people and produced 0.6 million tons of fish. According to the OECD, this produced a value of almost US$1.5 billion.