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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.

Axillary seabream
Pagellus acarne
Μουσμούλι

Sustainability Status

Currently considered sustainable

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Good choice – Consumption of this species is currently considered sustainable

Legal

Minimum Size

17 cm

Prohibited Consumption Period

–

Sustainable

Minimum Size

18 cm

Avoid Consumption Period

April – June

Advice for Consumption

Consumption of this species is currently considered sustainable.

Greek legislation does not establish a closed season for this species, leaving both juvenile and spawning fish completely unprotected.

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

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

Pageot blanc

it

Pagello

es

Aligote

tr

Deli mercan

pt

Besugo

nl

Spaanse zeebrasem

de

Achselfleckbrasse

toxicity

This species is safe to consume.

iucn info

Least concern (LC)

Description

Body tall without stripes but with a dark red spot at the pectoral fin base. Mainly gold and greyish-pink body with darker dorsal part. Head darker, particularly between the big eyes. Small gap between dorsal fins.

It looks like Pagellus erythrinus (Pandora), it shares a similar body shape and is found in the same geographic range as Pagellus acarne, making it a close relative. It also looks like Pagellus bogaraveo (Blackspot seabream), which is distinguished by a dark spot above its pectoral fin and is also found in the same general area.

Did you know?

Axillary sea breams migrate to different areas for feeding and spawning purposes!

Ecological Aspects

Diet

Omnivorous.
Prefers worms, mollusks and small crustaceans.

habitat

Benthopelagic.
Adults inhabit various types of bottoms, especially seagrass beds and sand down to 500 m depth, but more common between 40 and 100 m. The young are found nearer to the shore.

Max size & depth range

Max length: 36 cm
Max weight: 800 g
Depth range: 5-500 m

breeding & Growth

Most individuals are first males, then become females at a size of about 24 to 30 cm (around 2-7 years old). In the Mediterranean Sea they generally experience two distinct reproductive phases, a spring to early summer period and an autumn period (peaking around October-November).
Growth rate: Moderate (k = 0.3yr⁻¹).

Longevity & presence

Lifespan: 10-12 years
Max reported age: 15 years
Distribution: Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. Rare in the British Isles but recorded occasionally off Denmark.

appearance changes

It changes in appearance and sexual function as it matures and grows, characterized primarily by its transition from male to female (protandric hermaphroditism).

Reproductive Cycle

In the Mediterranean, females generally produce an estimated 16,000 to 67,000 eggs annually.
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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