The gilthead seabream owes its name to the golden patch between its eyes, which is reminiscent of a crown. It also has a black spot on its gill covers, its second distinctive feature. Its mouth is equipped with canines and molars, broad flat teeth that enable it to crush shells and carapaces.
It is not unusual to come across juveniles in brackish waters (water with a salt content somewhere between that of seawater and freshwater): they are able to withstand wide variations in salinity.
It is a rather solitary fish, prized for its flesh: an estimated 960 tonnes are caught in France each year, although most gilthead seabream production comes from fish farming (140,000 tonnes produced per year). It is the leading marine aquaculture species in the Mediterranean.
In the Mediterranean, spawning takes place at the beginning of winter, from November onwards, and can last for 3 months, during which each female can lay up to 80,000 eggs per day.
Did you know?
The gilthead seabream is a hermaphrodite. It is born male and changes sex at the age of 3 to become female.
