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Fish4Life provides everything you need to enjoy seafood responsibly. Explore information and practical tips for safe and sustainable seafood consumption, and help protect marine life by reporting undersized or illegally traded seafood.

Striped red mullet
Mullus surmuletus
Μπαρμπούνι

Sustainability Status

Undersize fish highly caught by trawlers

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Help us protect our seas by reporting illegal or undersized fish that you see in markets, restaurants or fishing boats
Think before you eat – This species faces increasing pressures and should only be consumed responsibly

Legal

Minimum Size

11 cm

Prohibited Consumption Period

–

Sustainable

Minimum Size

15 cm

Avoid Consumption Period

May – August

Advice for Consumption

Think before consuming this species.

Greek legislation sets an unsustainably small legal minimum size and no closed season, leaving juvenile and spawning fish completely unprotected.

Respect minimum sustainable size limits and do not consume during its breeding season.

Choose sustainable seafood!

Archipelagos Tips

If you choose to consume this species, select larger-sized fish. This species is caught by both industrial trawl fisheries and small-scale fishers.

Avoid fish caught by trawlers and prefer fish from small-scale fisheries, which are generally more selective and more likely to catch larger, mature individuals. In Greece, trawling is prohibited from June to September.

During this period, this species available on the market is caught exclusively by small-scale (artisanal).

Common names

FR

Rouget de roche

it

Triglia di scoglio

es

Salmonete de roca

tr

Tekir

pt

Salmonete

nl

Rode mul

de

Meerbarbe

toxicity

This species is safe to consume.

iucn info

Least concern (LC)

Description

Head is less steep. Barbels under the chin are longer than pectoral fin. Body with longitudinal red and orange-brown stripes through eye to base of caudal fin. First dorsal fin with dark markings. Yellow longitudinal stripes on body and dorsal fin, and yellow caudal fin.

It ooks like Mullus Barbatus (Red mullet), it has similar coloration. Both found over sand and mud, using the barbels as probes to churn up the sediment in search of food.

Did you know?

Striped red mullet have teeth on the roof of their mouths!

Ecological Aspects

Diet

Carnivorous.
Feeds on shrimps, amphipods, mollusks, benthic fishes and polychaetes.

habitat

Demersal.
Found on broken and rough grounds but also over sand and soft bottoms.

Max size & depth range

Max length: 40 cm
Max weight: 1 kg
Depth range: 5-409 m

breeding & Growth

Determinate spawners that have all eggs meant for a single season ready before the spawning begins. Spawning occurs between May through July.
Growth rate: Moderate (k = 0,430yr⁻¹).

Longevity & presence

Lifespan: 5-8 years
Max reported age: 11 years
Distribution: Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Senegal, Canary Islands, Western Norway, English Channel.

appearance changes

As they migrate toward the coastline, juveniles gradually lose their blue hue and shift to greenish tones. Once they settle on the seabed as adults, they acquire their characteristic appearance, a streamlined fusiform body marked by vivid longitudinal red and brown stripes running along their silvery‑pink flanks.

Reproductive Cycle

Egg count seasonally: 750,000
Reproduction frequency: Numerous times throughout the season.
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If you’d like to learn more about the work of the Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation, please visit our website: https://archipelago.gr/

Good choice – Consumption of this species is currently considered sustainable

Illegal species – Fishing, selling and consumption of this species is illegal

Fishstocks – Declining due to overexploitation

Think before you eat – This species faces increasing pressures and should only be consumed responsibly

Bad choice – Consumption of this species is unsustainable

Health concerns –
Can accumulate dangerously high levels of toxic substances harmful to health

Alien / Invasive – This species is not from this region and can have a negative impact on the ecosystem and threaten local biodiversity, so it is sustainable to eat

Aquafarms – You will commonly find this species coming from aquafarms