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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.

Red porgy
Pagrus pagrus
Φαγγρί

Sustainability Status

Natural stocks are decreasing

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

Legal

Minimum Size

18 cm

Prohibited Consumption Period

–

Sustainable

Minimum Size

32 cm

Avoid Consumption Period

February – May

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. Always respect minimum sustainable size limits and do not consume this species during its breeding season.

Choose sustainable seafood!

Archipelagos Tips

Select larger-sized fish and check that it has no spearfishing marks.

This species is widely supplied to the market illegally through spearfishing, as spearfishing is permitted only for personal use and fish caught in this way cannot be sold commercially. When purchasing or ordering this species, ask to see the whole fish and check for signs of spearfishing, such as entry marks on the body or the top of the head.

Common names

FR

Pagre

it

Pagro comune

es

Pargo

tr

Fangri

pt

Pargo-legítimo

nl

Rode zeebrasem

de

Gewöhnliche rotbrasse

toxicity

This species is safe to consume.

iucn info

Least concern (LC)

Description

It has a dark forehead, big eyes, dark pink caudal fin with white tips. Has a steep, tall head profile. Body oval, moderately deep. It is pink with silvery shine, lighter on belly. The head is darker from nape to mouth. There is often a darker spot near pectoral fin base with the caudal fin being dark pink with white tips and the other fins are pinkish. The young may show fine blue dots on upper sides.

It looks like Sparus aurata (Gilt-head bream), which has a similar body shape.

Did you know?

When they reach adulthood, common seabream are extremely good at camouflage!

Ecological Aspects

Diet

Carnivorous.
Feeds on crustaceans, fishes, and mollusks.

habitat

Benthopelagic.
Found over rock or sand.
Young found on seagrass beds.

Max size & depth range

Max length: 91 cm
Max weight: 17.7 kg
Depth range: 0-250m

breeding & Growth

Protandric hermaphrodites. Start as females, then become males. Spawns from April through September. Specifically at ocean temperatures between 15-19°C.
Growth rate: Slow (k = 0.166yr⁻¹).

Longevity & presence

Lifespan: 12-18 years
Max reported age: 26 years
Distribution: Mediterranean, Eastern Atlantic, Western Atlantic and Caribbean Sea.

appearance changes

Occasionally presents small blue dots on the upper sides.

Reproductive Cycle

Egg count: 48,660-488,000 eggs
Reproductive frequency: Numerous times per spawning 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