Black bream or porgy or seabream | FishOnline | The in-depth guide to sustainable seafood

Black bream or porgy or seabream (Spondyliosoma cantharus)

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Common name - Black bream or porgy or seabream

Scientific name - Spondyliosoma cantharus

Rating

Caught at sea Gill net, Rod & line

Capture Area North East Atlantic FAO 27

Stock Area UK

Stock Detail All Areas

Summary

Black bream stocks currently appear to be in a healthy state, however there is a lack of stock assessment and adequate management for the species. The species is moderately vulnerable to fishing in terms of growth rate and fecundity but the species spawning behavioural traits make the species especially vulnerable to bottom trawling. The fact that Black bream are sequential hermaphrodites is also a cause for concern as the stock requires a balanced age structure to reproduce successfully as all newly mature fish (>21cm) are likely to be female and older generations male (>30-40cm).The fact that males show significant paternal investment in creating nests and guarding eggs adds weight to the need for appropriate conservation of an appropriate sex ratio. An appropriate EU minimum landing size is required, the species would also benefit from a maximum landing size to protect males. Other appropriate management measures needed include detailed stock assessment with appropriate reference points, a harvest control rule and seasonal closed spawning areas. Trawling for Black bream can disturb the spawning process and destroy both nests and eggs, choose Black bream caught with Rod and Line or Gillnet as a sustainable option. Cornwall, North Western and North Wales and Sussex Sea fisheries committees have the best management for black bream and are currently the most sustainable locations to source from.

Biology

A member of a group of fish known as Sparidae, the Black bream is one of two species commonly found in northern European seas. Spawning occurs in April and May in a number of inshore waters, such as the English Channel. Black bream all mature as females at around 20cm; once bream reach about 30cm they may change into males, all fish over 40cms are males.

Stock Information

There is no formal stock assessment for Black bream and as the stock is not evaluated against precautionary limits, thus the precise state of the stocks are unknown. The species is moderately vulnerable but there is currently there is no evidence that the fishery is experiencing overfishing. Although stocks in the English Channel were heavily fished in the 1970s & 1980s they have recovered in recent years.

Capture Information

Black bream are targeted by gillnets outside of the spawning grounds and static gear has minimal impact upon the seabed, however it can be associated with marine mammal bycatch. Rod & line is a selective method of fishing provided mature fish only are landed and has no impact on the seabed. Seabream is not commercially fished and is a 'non-pressure' stock (not subject to quota restrictions). Black bream may receive some protection from the EU fixed net technical measure (>220mm mesh size for catches >70% Seabream). in EU waters; no Minimum Landing Size is specified for the species. However, local byelaws in some Sea Fishery Committees' Districts, e.g. Sussex SFC has mesh regulations and closed areas for the spawning season and Cornwall and North Western and North Wales, prohibit landing of seabream below 23 cm and Sussex. This effectively protects female bream and gives them a chance to spawn, but as Black seabream are sequential hermaphrodites (changing from female to male with age), as well as a minimum landing size, a maximum landing size of 40cm may also benefit the species as this will allow protection for mature males as well as mature females.

Alternatives

(Based on method of production, fish type, and consumer rating: only fish rated 3 and below are included.)

Black bream or porgy or seabream

Read what the consumer pages of the Good Fish Guide say about this species.