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FISH GUIDE · Sea

Blackspot seabream: identification, habitat and fishing guide

Pagellus bogaraveo

A bottom-associated sparid with large eyes, also known as blackspot seabream.

Catalogue names : Pageot rose. Forms and names may vary between habitats.

Editorial review : · This species guide is not permission to fish. Read the precautions below and check the current rules for your location before targeting a species. Some species or populations are protected.

Geographical distribution

Found from Norway to Cape Blanc in Mauritania, around Madeira and the Canary Islands, and in the western Mediterranean; FishBase describes it as rare beyond the Strait of Sicily.

  • Documented presence : Eastern Atlantic
  • Documented presence : Western Mediterranean

Documented areas, not an exhaustive list. Presence in a region does not imply presence in every water body or permission to fish.

Distribution sources

Identification

Eye wider than the snout and a black mark at the start of the lateral line, sometimes absent in young fish.

In juveniles, possible absence of the large flank mark means that the eyes and snout must also be examined.

Habitat

Various bottoms, notably muddy ground for adults, in the eastern Atlantic and western Mediterranean.

Coastal juveniles and adults on the slope must not be treated as a single fishing situation.

Diet

Crustaceans, molluscs, worms and small fish.

Behaviour

It forms groups; adults use the continental slope more than coastal juveniles.

Blackspot seabream is gregarious. The DYNROSE project highlights the sensitivity of its protandrous life cycle to exploitation.

Indicative biological size

About 30 cm standard length according to FishBase, excluding the tail; do not confuse this with total length.

Fishing context and precautions

CNR explicitly describes Pagellus bogaraveo as a target of deep bolentino. Its account of this technique uses a line ending in a sinker to present bait near the bottom; squid, shrimp and sardine are named for the Pagellus group without demonstrating a preference specific to blackspot seabream. An electric reel is a retrieval tool, not barotrauma prevention.

This dossier for the French Atlantic coasts is informative and preventive: it does not advise targeting deep-water adults without first establishing applicable rules and how fish that cannot be retained will be managed. Release difficulties highlighted by CNR justify avoiding catches that cannot be managed, without claiming that a foreign method, planned release or administrative registration grants permission. No puncture or improvised device is taught.

A distinctive feature

Its protandrous life cycle, male then female, contributes to the sensitivity to fishing studied by DYNROSE. A 2021 study records recovery after commercial capture, but in tanks: it does not demonstrate successful free release after recreational angling.

Sources and review

Each reference includes its access date. Overall editorial review: . Local conditions and regulations may change.

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