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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.

Gilthead seabream
Sparus aurata
Τσιπούρα

Sustainability Status

Legal size is significantly smaller

REPORT IT
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
Aquafarms – You will commonly find this species coming from aquafarms

Legal

Minimum Size

20 cm

Prohibited Consumption Period

–

Sustainable

Minimum Size

37 cm

Avoid Consumption Period

December – January

Advice for Consumption

Think before consuming this species.

This species is most commonly available on the market from aquaculture production. If purchasing wild-caught fish, be aware that current legislation fails to take the biology of this species into account, setting a legal minimum size that is considerably smaller than the scientifically recommended sustainable size and failing to establish a closed season, leaving both juvenile and spawning fish completely unprotected. Always respect sustainable size limits and avoid consuming this species during its breeding season.

Consume responsibly!

Archipelagos Tips

If you choose wild-caught fish, select larger, mature individuals whenever possible to help protect juvenile fish and support sustainable fisheries.

If you choose farmed fish, prefer products from small- or medium-scale aquaculture farms, which generally have a lower environmental footprint.

Common names

FR

Dorade royale

it

Orata

es

Dorada

tr

Cipura

pt

Dourada

nl

Dorade

de

Dorade

toxicity

This species is safe to consume.

iucn info

Least concern (LC)

Description

Body grey-brown with a yellow band between the eyes. Large black blotch at origin of lateral line. Black line along dorsal fin. Caudal fin bordered with black. Snout more than twice as long as the eye diameter.

It looks like Diplodus sargus (White seabream), it is also found in the same geographic range as Sparus aurata, the Diplodus sargus shares a similar body shape but can be identified by its distinctive black spot at the base of its tail.

Did you know?

Due to its ability to acclimate to rapid environmental changes, dietary adjustments, and microbial outbreaks, the gilthead seabream is a highly adaptable fish!

Ecological Aspects

Diet

Mainly carnivorous, occasionally herbivorous.
Feeds on shellfish, including mussels and oysters.

habitat

Pelagic.
Found in seagrass beds and sandy bottoms as well as in the surf zone commonly to depths of about 30 m, but adults may occur to 150 m depth. In spring, they often occur in brackish water coastal lagoons and estuaries.

Max size & depth range

Max length: 70 cm
Max weight: 17 kg
Depth range: 1-150 m

breeding & Growth

Protandric hermaphrodite species, maturing first as male (during the first or second year of age) and after the second or third year of age, as female. It undertakes a two-phase seasonal migration cycle driven by feeding and reproduction. This euryhaline fish exhibits structured connectivity between coastal/lagoon feeding grounds and offshore spawning areas. Spawning happens generally from October through December, with sequenced spawning during the whole period.
Growth rate: Slow-moderate (k = 0.26yr⁻¹).

Longevity & presence

Lifespan: 11-12 years
Max reported age: 14 years
Distribution: British Isles, Strait of Gibraltar to Cape Verde and around the Canary Islands, presence in the entire Mediterranean Sea.

appearance changes

They undergoes significant appearance changes throughout its life, primarily driven by growth (ontogeny) and its development as a protandrous hermaphrodite (changing from male to female).Their bodies turn deeper and rounder with age.

Reproductive Cycle

A single female can release between 20,000 and 80,000 eggs per day during the peak reproductive season. Over an entire annual cycle, a female produces a total of 1.5 million to 3 million eggs per kilogram of body weight.
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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