BASS, EUROPEAN

B, E -

BASS, EUROPEAN

Scientific Name: 
Dicentrarchus labrax
Salt/Fresh: 
Salt,Fresh
Also Known As: 
European Bass; European Seabass; Robalo; Mero; Bar commun; BASS, EUROPEAN; Branzino; Spigola; Ragno; Lubina; Levrek; Brancin; Lavraki; Loup de Mer; Sea Dace
Rating: 
Countries: 
Other Countries
Description: 

The European Bass, is a primarily ocean-going fish that sometimes enters brackish and fresh waters. Debate has been ferocious in Britain in recent years as to the origin of the word "seabass". The traditional word was "bass" but that has changed with the recent popularity of cooking programmes and the expansion of restaurant marketing, both of which have adopted the phrase "seabass". The European Bass is a member of the Moronidae family. The name Dicentrarchus derives from the presence of two dorsal fins.

How To Identify: 

European Bass are silvery grey to bluish on the back, silvery on the sides and white on the belly. They have an elongated body and can grow up to one meter (3.3 feet) long and weigh up to 15 kg (33 lbs.). Vomerine teeth in a crescentic band, without a backward extension on midline of roof of mouth.  Two separate dorsal fins; the first with 8 to 10 spines; the second with 1 spine and 12 or 13 soft rays. Anal fin with 3 spines and 10 to 12 soft rays.  Scales small; lateral line complete with 62 to 74 (mode 70), but not extending onto caudal fin.

How To Catch: 

The fish has come under increasing pressure from commercial fishing and has recently become the focus in the United Kingdom of a conservation effort by recreational anglers. In Italy European Bass is the subject of intensive breeding in salt waters. Small commercial fisheries exist in the Mediterranean. The gear used to catch these bass includes beach and purse seines, trawl nets, trammel nets, longlines and rod and line.

Where Found: 

International

Its habitats include estuaries, lagoons, coastal waters, and rivers. It is found in the waters in and around Europe, including the eastern Atlantic Ocean (from Norway to Senegal), the Mediterranean Sea, and the Black Sea.

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