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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.

Saddled seabream
Oblada melanurus
Μελανούρι

Sustainability Status

Currently considered sustainable

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Help us protect our seas by reporting illegal or undersized fish that you see in markets, restaurants or fishing boats
Good choice – Consumption of this species is currently considered sustainable

Legal

Minimum Size

–

Prohibited Consumption Period

–

Sustainable

Minimum Size

19 cm

Avoid Consumption Period

May – July

Advice for Consumption

Consumption of this species is currently considered sustainable.

Greek legislation does not establish legal minimum size and no closed season, leaving juvenile and spawning fish completely unprotected.

Choose responsibly by respecting sustainable size limits and avoiding consumption during the breeding season.

Archipelagos Tips

Choosing larger, mature fish helps reduce fishing pressure on juvenile individuals.

Common names

FR

Oblade

it

Occhiata

es

Oblada

tr

Melanur

pt

Dobrada

nl

Zadelzeebrasem

de

–

toxicity

This species is safe to consume.

iucn info

Least concern (LC)

Description

Oval body shape, silver coloration. Dark blotch on tail peduncle ringed with bright white lines.

It looks like Diplodus annularis (Annular seambream), it has yellow marks on the eye and underside. Oblada melanura has white edges surrounding the black dot on tail peduncle.

Did you know?

The saddled seabream is the only species within the genus Oblada!

Ecological Aspects

Diet

Omnivorous.
Feeds mainly on small invertebrates.

habitat

Benthopelagic.
Forms aggregations over rocky bottoms or seagrass beds.

Max size & depth range

Max length: 36.6 cm
Max weight: 525 g
Depth range: 0-30 m

breeding & Growth

It generally spans from May to July, with spawning peaking in June. The warmer temperature of the water triggers the reproductive cycle.
Growth rate: Slow-moderate (k = 0.24yr⁻¹).

Longevity & presence

Lifespan: 2-8 years
Max reported age: 12 years
Distribution: Bay of Biscay, the Mediterranean and from the Strait of Gibraltar to Angola.

appearance changes

It undergoes only minor appearance changes in the wild. As they grow from juveniles to adults, their dark vertical stripes slightly fade, and the dark spot on their tail base grows into a thicker, white-edged black saddle marking.

Reproductive Cycle

A female produces anywhere from 20,000 to 350,000 pelagic eggs per fish, depending on her size and length, and per year.
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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