Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical
The European sea bass is not an endangered species, but there is a threat of over-exploitation of bass stocks. This is due to the fact that it is a very slow-growing species that can be over-exploited with only a little fishing effort. (Wheeler 1975)
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
The European sea bass is a renowned sporting fish, which is rated by British sea anglers as their best fighting fish. It is a species equally important to sport anglers and commercial fishermen. There is a strong international market for European sea bass and high prices are paid for them. (Pickett and Pawson 1994, Wheeler 1975)
The European sea bass is a predatory species feeding on mainly small pelagic fish such as sardines, sprats, and sand smelts. They also feed on sand-eels and other bottom-living species, crustaceans, and squids. Young fish tend to eat more invertebrates than do older fish. European sea bass are opportunistic predators and are known to attack prey species quite violently. Throughout their life, they develop a wide range of tactics to find and capture their prey. One specific tactic they use is to drive upwards toward the surface and attack from below at a steep angle. They tend to feed on whatever prey species are seasonally abundant in a particular location. (Wheeler 1975, Pickett and Pawson 1994)
European sea bass are found from northern England to northern Africa and throughout the Mediterranean and Black Sea. (Wheeler 1975)
Biogeographic Regions: palearctic (Native ); ethiopian (Native )
The European sea bass is typically an inshore species found in the surf zone, around outcrops of rocks, and in shallow coastal waters. Because they are found to be capable of surviving in estuaries in almost fresh water, it is thought that they could adapt to life in fresh water. In British waters they are migratory, approaching inshore in spring and summer, and moving into deeper water in late autumn. They spawn in inshore areas. (Wheeler 1975)
Aquatic Biomes: coastal
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 15 years.
European sea bass are approximately 1 meter long. The body of a sea bass is covered by large, regular scales. Its color varies considerably, depending on the fish's origin, ranging from dark grey, blue or green on the back to a white or pale yellow belly. The flanks are silver-blue, sometimes pale gold or bronze. The head in young bass appears quite pointed, but it becomes blunter in older fish. Sea bass in their first year tend to be paler in appearance than older fish, and usually have dark spots on the back and upper sides. Normally these spots have disappeared by the time the fish is 1 year old, although some fish retain them well into adulthood. (Wheeler 1975, Pickett and Pawson 1994)
Range mass: 9 to 10 kg.
Other Physical Features: bilateral symmetry
Adult sea bass reproduce sexually by using external fertilization. The adults spawn from February to July. Temperature provides an important cue for the initiation and location of spawning because sea bass eggs are rarely found where the water is colder than 8.5-9.0 degrees Celsius or in water warmer than 15 degrees Celsius. During the spawning season, each mature female may produce between a quarter and half a million eggs per kilogram of her own body weight. Sea bass egg are planktonic and hatch between 4 and 9 days after fertilization, depending on sea temperature. During the following 2-3 months, the growing larvae drift from the open sea inshore towards the coast, and eventually into creeks, backwaters, and estuaries. These sheltered habitats are used by juvenile sea bass for the next 4-5 years, before they mature and adopt the migratory movements of adults. (Pickett and Pawson 1994)
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
Sex: male: 730 days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
Sex: female: 1460 days.
The European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax), also known as the European bass, sea bass, common bass, white bass, capemouth, white salmon, sea perch, white mullet or sea dace, 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]
D. labrax
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, polychaetes, cephalopods, and crustaceans. 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 2000–2009. 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 biggest producer in the world for European seabass is Turkey.[15]
The European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax), also known as the European bass, sea bass, common bass, white bass, capemouth, white salmon, sea perch, white mullet or sea dace, 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. In North America, it is widely known by one of its Italian names, branzino.
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.
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