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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.

Painted comber
Serranus scriba
Πέρκα

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

17 cm

Avoid Consumption Period

May – August

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

Serran écriture

it

Sciaranno

es

Serrano

tr

Yazılı hani balıği

pt

Serrão

nl

Schriftbaars

de

Schriftbarsch

toxicity

This species is safe to consume.

iucn info

Least concern (LC)

Description

Laterally compressed body, a pointed snout, and a large, protractile mouth with sharp teeth. It is multicolor with a predominantly yellow, blue and brown body; it has brown vertical stripes, white lines along face, and a bright blue patch on its side. It has a vein-like blue and brown pattern on face and a yellow caudal fin.

It looks like Serranus cabrilla (Comber or Brown comber), generally smaller than Serranus scriba, Serranus cabrilla has a reddish-brown color with more generalized bands, lacking the blue spot.

Did you know?

The painted comber is a hermaphroditus fish, meaning it can self-fertilize due to its presence of both female and male gametes!

Ecological Aspects

Diet

Macro/hyperbenthivorous.
Feeds on fishes and crustaceans.

habitat

Demersal.
Found on rocky bottom and on Posidonia oceanica beds.

Max size & depth range

Max length: 36 cm
Max weight: 450 g
Depth range: 5-150 m

breeding & Growth

It spawns primarily from May to August, with peak reproductive activity occurring in June and July.
Growth rate: Slow (k = 0.18yr⁻¹).

Longevity & presence

Lifespan: 10-16 years
Max reported age: 16 years
Distribution: Presence in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, as well as the Eastern Atlantic.

appearance changes

Its appearance changes through gradual growth (ontogenetic shift). It can slightly alter the intensity of its colors. When stressed, frightened, or sleeping, their vibrant colors may fade.

Reproductive Cycle

Adult individuals spawn up to 100,000 pelagic eggs per major reproductive event. Because they are synchronous hermaphrodites, they reproduce frequently throughout their season (typically late spring to summer), engaging in multiple spawning batches over the course of about 3 to 4 months each year.
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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