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N°1 | The Ling fish

The Ling fish belongs to the Lotidae family. It generally measures 1.60 m in adulthood, but can reach a height of 2 meters and weigh up to 45 kg. Its longevity is estimated at 10 years for males and 14 years for females. Breeding takes place from March to July. The female can lay up to 60 million eggs. It can be fished all year round except in winter. The Ling has a cylindrical and very elongated body. The head is flattened with a prominent upper jaw. The fairly long chin barbell is larger than the diameter of the eye. This species has two dorsal fins and one anal fin. The first dorsal fin is shorter and often shows a black spot on the back, the second one runs the rest of the body to the tail. The black caudal fin has a white border on the tip. It is uniformly greenish brown in color, but slightly darker dorsally in adults. The young are often lighter, with its coloring more or less marbled orange.

Fishing period : all year except in winter

Minimum size : no restriction

Difficulty :

N°2 | The John Dory Fish

The John Dory fish belongs to the Zeidae family. It measures 30 to 50 cm on average and can reach a maximum weight of 8 kg. It can live up to 12 years. This fish is caught all year round but more easily from April to July. This fish has a high body and very strongly compressed laterally. Its head and the base of its fins carry thorns and bone ridges. The filaments carried by the dorsal fin are very long in juveniles and gradually regress until the animal reaches its adult size. Its eyes are high and his protractile mouth is widely split. An arched lateral line can be seen above the pectoral fins. Its color varies from grey-green with silvery to golden yellow reflections, often marked by longitudinal mottling. A large black eye patch surrounded by grey adorns the middle of each flank.

Fishing period : all year

Minimum size : no restriction

Difficulty :

N°3 | Seabass

The Seabass belongs to the Moronidae family. Its size is usually between 70 and 80 cm (1.10 m maximum). The life expectancy of the seabass is variable: about thirty years in an aquarium, 24 years in Ireland, 6 years maximum most often in the Mediterranean. Breeding takes place between December and March or January to May depending on the location. The female lays 200,000 eggs at once. The body of this fish is elongated and slightly compressed. The two dorsal fins (the first thorny and the second soft) are well separated and have almost the same length and height. The anal fin is composed of 10 soft rays preceded by 3 thorny rays. The caudal peduncle is quite elongated and the caudal fin is indented, with an upper lobe often slightly longer than the lower lobe. The pectoral fins are short. The upper part of the head is quite straight, the upper jaw is a little shorter than the lower jaw. The operculum may have a more or less visible black spot in its posterior upper part. The scales are small in size but clearly visible. The lateral line is slightly arched in the front part of the body. The back is grey in color, the sides are lighter, with yellowish or silvery reflections. The pectoral and ventral fins are yellowish white; the others are darker. Mostly in young individuals, black spots may be present in the dorso-ventral region.

Fishing period : Refer to section below

Minimum size : 40 cm

Difficulty :

N°4 | The Halibut fish

The Halibut fish belongs to the Pleuronectidae family. It can measure up to 4 m, weigh more than 100 kg and live to be 50 years old. It breeds from February to May and lays up to one million eggs. the fishing season is open from March to November. Halibut is a flatfish of the Pleuronectidae family. Like all fish in this family, its eyes are both located on the right side of his head (dexter fish), with the left side blind and unpigmented facing the ground. Its body is elongated, its lateral line strongly arched in the pectoral region, its mouth wide, its teeth curved and its tail concave. The color of its right flank (upper flank) varies from greenish grey to dark brown, while its left flank ranges from white to pale grey.

Fishing period : More productive in Spring

Minimum size : 81 cm

Difficulty :

N°5 | The Wrasse fish

The Wrasse fish belongs to the Labridae family. Labridaes are marine fish, the Wrasse of the Labridae family, in the order of Perciformes. The family is large and diverse, with about 500 species of fish generally very colourful, grouped into 60 genera. The large number of species of wrasse offers an incredible diversity of colors, shapes and sizes with possible geographical variations between some individuals of the same species. In addition, like parrot fish, many livers evolve over the course of their lives according to their maturity and their position within the group. These evolutions can be considered in different phases (juvenile, intermediate or initial and terminal) at each of them, morphological modifications (size, shape and color) take place. All these variations in livery during the existence of a wrasse make it particularly difficult to identify between species, the risk of confusion is great and this even for specialists. During the juvenile phase, the dominant colors can vary from bright yellow to orange, as well as dull colors such as grey and brown with camouflage patterns. In the intermediate or initial phase, the wrasse is both male and female, adult but subordinate to the dominant individuals and therefore smaller with dull colors and cryptic patterns. However, in the terminal phase, depending on the species, fish can change sex, size and livery. The latter becomes a distinctive visual element within the group and is very colorful with red, yellow, gree

Fishing period : Varies according to the species

Minimum size : Varies according to the species

Difficulty :

N°6 | The Bull Huss

The Bull Huss belongs to the Scyliorhinidae family. Small in size, they usually measure 60 to 80 cm, although there are larger ones, since they can reach 1.5 m in the Mediterranean and 2 m in the Atlantic. This fish can live for 75 years. It spawns a hundred eggs all year round, especially in the late winter and in July. It is abundant every day of the year. This fish is not really active but still is hard to catch. The upper part of the Bull Huss is light brown in color, covered with small dark brown spots. Because of this pattern of spots, it is also called spotted cat shark. The part of the flank is white and grey. The mouth and nose holes are below his obtuse head. The particularity of the Bull Huss is that its nostrils are linked to the mouth by a curved line.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 58 cm

Difficulty :

N°7 | The Pouting fish

The Pouting fish belongs to the Gadidae Family. Its longevity is short: 4 years for a maximum size of 45 cm and a weight of about 1kg. Breeding takes place in March-April and is fished all year round. This small fish, generally 20/30 cm, rarely 45 cm, has an oval body, flattened laterally. Beige/pinkish white, slightly coppery, it can, especially when it is close to a poorly lit area (cave, wreck), have four to five wide dark vertical stripes. These bands may be absent in sunlight or on dead fish. The lower jaw is slightly set back, giving the pouting fish a characteristic profile with a small "nose". The eye is quite large, and a barbell is clearly visible under the "chin". The pouting fish has, like other Gadidae, three dorsal fins and two anal fins. A black spot is clearly visible at the base of the pectoral muscles.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 25 cm

Difficulty :

N°8 | The Pollack fish

The Pollack fish belongs to the Gadidae family. Its size can reach 1.40 m for an average of 60 to 80 cm. The Pollack grows very quickly and lives between 8 and 10 years, while most pelagic fish have a lifespan of more than 20 years. Reproduction takes place in February March. Fertility can reach 4 million eggs. It can be fished all year round. Elongated body, covered with small scales, orange-yellow color, darker on the back, marbled in young individuals, bright yellowish white in adults. Prominent lower jaw, big eye. The dark-colored lateral line is curved at the pectoral fins, which makes it easily distinguishable from the black locus (Pollachius virens) in which it is straight. The Pollack, like many Gadidae, has three clearly triangular dorsal fins and two anal fins. It is one of the few Gadidae that does not have chin barbells. Juveniles are rather reddish brown with longitudinal stripes of blue-grey.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 30 cm

Difficulty :

N°9 | The Coalfish

The Coalfish belongs to the Gadidae family. With a size of up to 1.30 m, the coalfish can weigh up to 10 kg. It has a life span of 8 to 10 years. The breeding period varies according to the location. The female lays up to 4 million eggs. It can be fished all year round but at a minimum catch size of 61 cm. Its body is fusiform and elongated, covered with small round scales. In profile, the lower jaw is slightly prominent. The back is greenish brown; the belly is silvery. The clear and almost straight lateral line is well marked. It extends along the entire length of its sides. There may also be a black spot at the base of the pectoral fins. The mouth is terminal. She's black on the inside. The fins are soft-raked. They are dark like the back of a fish, except for the lighter pelvic fins. The coalfish has 3 dorsal fins, the first being triangular, the others longer, and 2 anal fins. The pelvic fins are positioned well forward, under the head, and the caudal fin is a little concave. Young people may have a small barbel on their chin.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 61 cm

Difficulty :

N°10 | The European Eel

The European Eel belongs to the Anguillidae family. The european eel can reach a maximum size of 1.50 m and a weight of 3 kg. However, males rarely exceed 45 cm. The current size is more modest and varies between 40 and 60 cm. Its longevity is 12 to 20 years but in captivity it can reach more than 50 years. They can be fished from June to September. The European eel has a snake-like body, with a circular cross-section and very elongated. The body is covered with smooth, viscous skin, rich in thick mucus-secreting cells. The scales are small, oval and deeply embedded in the skin. It has a small round eye and a terminal mouth. The lower jaw is prominent. The color of the eel varies as it grows. In the yellow eel stage, it has a brownish, greenish or yellowish color depending on its habitat (homochrome). The lateral line is not very visible. In the silver eel stage, the back is dark green, the sides have silvery highlights and the belly is pearly white. The lateral line becomes very visible. The body of the European eel does not have pelvic fins. The pectoral fins, the only even fins, are small. On the other hand, odd fins (dorsal, anal, caudal) are very long and fuse at the tail.

Fishing period : June to September

Minimum size : 38 cm

Difficulty :

7.6

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How it works

This is a score of 1 to 10 calculated city by city according to some forty criteria affecting fishing: moon, weather conditions, atmospheric pressure, sunrise / sunset. sun, tides, swell etc .