Fish
European Sea Bass
Dicentrarchus labrax
In the surge off a rocky headland, a European sea bass hunts silver sand eels in the churning water, a lone predator in a place few fish dare to enter.
Overview
The European sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax, is a Least Concern predatory fish of coastal waters from Norway to Morocco, and in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Its quality as a food and sport fish, combined with slow growth and heavy fishing, has made it one of the most closely managed fish in northern Europe.
A fish that needed rules
Because sea bass mature slowly and gather to spawn in predictable places, heavy fishing reduced northern stocks, and the fishery is now controlled with sizes, bag limits, and seasons.
Status
Least Concern, though northern stocks are carefully managed.
European Sea Bass: common questions
Is the European sea bass the same as a black bass?
No, the European sea bass is a coastal marine fish in a different family from the black basses of North American fresh waters.
Why is the sea bass managed with limits?
It is slow to mature and heavily fished, so catch limits, minimum sizes, and closed seasons have been introduced to rebuild stocks.
Where do young sea bass live?
They spend their first years in sheltered estuaries and creeks, which act as nurseries before they move out to sea.
Where is the European sea bass found?
It lives in coastal waters of the north-eastern Atlantic, from Norway to Morocco, and in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.