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N°1 | The Plaice fish

The Plaice fish belongs to the Pleuronectidae family. it does not usually exceed 61 cm. Growth is slow and the average lifespan is between 12 and 15 years. Reproduction takes place between February and May. Fertility is 125,000 eggs on average. It can be fished all year round. The plaice fish is a dexterous flat asymmetric fish: its two eyes are located on the right flank. Its body is thick. The ocular side is generally uniform, ranging from reddish to dark beige and spotted, while the blind side is white. His mouth is big. Its caudal is rounded and of moderate size. The lateral line is almost straight, except for a slight arc above the pectoral muscles. The dorsal fin has 76 to 101 rays, it originates in front of the left eye and ends on the caudal peduncle. The anal has 60 to 79 rays, it begins just below the operculum and ends under the posterior end of the dorsal fin. The head and body are covered with small ctenoid scales, they are rough on the ocular side; those on the blind side are mainly smooth and cycloid.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 30 cm

Difficulty :

N°2 | The Brill fish

The brill fish belongs to the Scophthalmidae family. The minimum size of capture is 30 cm but can reach 75 cm for 6 kg. He can live up to 3 years. It breeds from late spring to early summer. The female can lay up to 15 million eggs. It can be fished all year. The brill has an oval body. It rests on its right side and has its left side. Thus, when placed with the head facing left, both eyes are located above the mouth. Its common name of brill comes from a particularity of its dorsal fin, whose origin is far in front of the eye and whose first rays are free and branched. The distance between the two eyes is greater than the diameter of one eye. The lateral line is very curved at the pectoral fin. As with many flatfish, the coloring is variable and depends on the biotope. The brill is indeed capable of homochromia, i.e. to match the color of the background. The coloring is rather brown, more or less speckled, and also varies according to the environment on a live fish. It has many round spots whose edges are incomplete rings of darker colors. The blind side is whitish.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 30 cm

Difficulty :

N°3 | The Common Skate

The Common Skate belongs to the Rajidae family. Its average size is 2.85 m for 110 kg of weight. It has a lifespan of 100 years. It breeds in spring to summer. The female can lay up to 40 eggs. They are considered as threatened species by the IUCN or International Union for Conservation of Nature. The Common Skate has a pointed snout and rhombic shape, with a row of spines along the tail. The upper surface is colored olive-grey to brown with dark or white spot, and the bottom is lighter blue-grey.

Fishing period : Not available

Minimum size : Not available

Difficulty :

N°4 | The Smoothhound fish

The Smoothhound fish belongs to the Triakidae family. In exceptional cases, the emissole can reach a length of 160 cm, but it is common between 60 and 120 cm. He can live for about twenty years. Breeding takes place between June and March. The female can give birth to 10 or 20 young. It is mainly fished in the summer. The Smoothhound fish is a cartilaginous fish (the skeleton is composed of cartilage elements) of medium size. The body is elongated and tapered. The head is compressed in the upper part and the muzzle is long and rounded. The mouth, located at the bottom, is oblique and equipped with a series of small and low teeth, which may be less rounded in young people. The nostrils, in a ventral position, have a large opening, and are closer to the mouth than to the top of the muzzle. The eyes are small, round in young subjects, and horizontal oblong pupil (typical of deep-sea species) in adults. On the muzzle, there are sensory organs for depth detection (hydrostatic). Next to the terminal part of the head, there are five gill cracks. A subtle but distinct fold of the skin is found along the back, from the tail to the gill cracks. The skin (shagreen skin) is almost smooth. The dorsal fins are two, triangular in shape, the second is slightly smaller than the first. The pectoral muscles have a rounded and slightly concave inner top. The caudal fin has two non-symmetrical lobes (the upper part more developed). The anal fin is present. The colouring of the back and sides ar

Fishing period : summer

Minimum size : 60 cm

Difficulty :

N°5 | The Haddock fish

The Haddock fish belongs to the Gadidae family. The average size of haddock is 30 to 50 cm. It can measure up to 1.20 m and weigh up to 14 Kg and can live until the age of 20 years. It reproduces in spring. The female can respond to up to 3,000,000 eggs. This fish can be caught all year round outside of spawning periods. Like all coastal fish of which it is a part, haddock has three dorsal fins and two anal fins. Its body is more or less dark, crossed by a black lateral line and characterized by its silvery reflections. Its belly has a lighter shade on its back, it can be olive green and sometimes black. Two distinctive features for this fish: the black spot at the base of its pectoral fin and a small barbel on its lower jaw.

Fishing period : July to February

Minimum size : 30 cm

Difficulty :

N°6 | The Mullet fish

The Mullet fish belongs to the Mugilidae family. It can measure up to 75 cm and weigh 2.5 kg. A 16-year-old individual holds the observed longevity record. Breeding generally takes place from July to October. The female can lay up to 2.6 million eggs. It is fished from April to August. The mullet has an elongated body of about 35-50 cm or even 70 cm, with an oval cross-section and a robust appearance. Its color is generally silvery grey, bluish (sometimes more or less white, olive or brown), lightening on the sides and light belly. Sometimes grey longitudinal lines and golden reflections are present on the dorsal part. The lateral line is rarely visible. A small black spot is often present in the armpits of the pectoral muscles. The flattened head is wide, fat eyelids are well developed (but not always visible underwater because of their transparency) and protect the eyes near the snout. Its mouth has straight, dense and thin teeth, usually in several rows. The commissure ends below the posterior level of the nostril. Its upper lip is thin and smooth. It has two dorsal fins: the first with four spines and the second with 8-9 soft rays. The yellowish anal fin has 8 soft rays and 3 spines; pectoral fins have 16-19 rays; the pectoral axillary scale is well developed and about one-third the length of the fin. The ventral, anal and lower lobe of the caudal fins are sometimes yellow (but not necessarily yellow). The scales, arranged in lateral series (36-45), are cycloid (smooth

Fishing period : April to August

Minimum size : 20 cm

Difficulty :

N°7 | The Monkfish

The Monkfish belongs to the Lophiidae Family. The height, in adults, is between 70 and 200 cm. The weight of large individuals is around 40 kg, with a maximum of 58 kg recorded. The longevity is about twenty years. It breeds in winter. The female can lay millions of eggs at once. It is fished in abundance from December to March. With its enormous head (it constitutes 60% of the animal's weight), its widely split mouth and highly developed pectoral fins, anglerfish cannot be confused with any other fish. The body has a round section at the level of the tail, flattened towards the head. The first three rays of the dorsal fin are placed very far forward; the first, located in front of the eyes, carries a flap of bifid skin that the animal uses as bait. The skin is smooth, flake-free and slightly viscous. A row of branched appendages, more developed around the head, borders the median part of the body. The gill holes in the highest position are protected by two bony caps inserted under the skin. The teeth are strong, pointed and curved backwards. The general color is a light brown marbled with darker areas, which may vary according to the environment. Despite their large size, anglerfish are quite good at camouflage.

Fishing period : in winter

Minimum size : 50 cm

Difficulty :

N°8 | 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°9 | The Weever fish

The Weever fish belongs to the Trachinidae family. The Weever fish form a family of perciform marine fish, the Trachinidae, which includes nine species. Their sizes vary from 15 cm to more than 50 cm depending on the species. The Nine species are: The Lesser weever, the Spotted weever, the Guinean weever, the Sailfin weever, the Trachinus cornutus, the Greater weever, the Striped weever, the Cape Verde weever and the Starry weever. It can be fished during the hot seasons. The Weever fish can be classified into two categories, on the one hand the small Vive which measures less than 15 cm, and the large Vive, measuring on average 2 to 30 cm and can reach 50 cm in length. The large weever differs from the small one in that it has four thorns in its orbits. The weever is always dangerous, in that it is endowed with erectile spines are the bite is very toxic, which can have long-term consequences in humans. The weever is yellow on the back, with a whitish belly and yellow or brown streaks. Accidents are much more frequent since the weever is often buried in the sand, so the risk is greater, as you may step on it and get stung.

Fishing period : during hot season

Minimum size : no restriction

Difficulty :

N°10 | The Sting Ray fish

The Sting Ray fish belongs to the Dasyatidae family. The total length of this line is generally greater than 1 m, with a weight of 15 to 20 kg. The maximum known length is 2.50 m. The maximum lifespan is 20 years. Breeding usually takes place in summer. The female gives birth to 4 to 9 young. It can be fished all year round. The body of the sting ray is flattened, diamond-shaped, pointed at the front, with large pectoral fins: it is as wide as it is long. The tail, representing 60% of the total length, looks like a whip and, at one third of its base, it has a serrated spine, connected to venomous glands under the skin. The dorsal surface is bluish grey or reddish-grey in color, sometimes with white spots. This back is smooth, without tubers. The ventral side is clear. The sting ray has no dorsal fin or caudal fin and its pelvic fins are very small. The eyes are located on the dorsal surface while the mouth, nostrils and gill slits (five slits on each side) are on the ventral surface. The eyes are prominent, which gives him a very wide field of vision. Next to the eyes, an inhalant valve, called a spiracle, carries water into the gills. The mouth is located quite far back. Teeth are numerous and small, pointed in males and molar-shaped in females. The tail acts as a simple rudder and is not used for movement. It is done by the large pectoral fins, by beating. These fins are also used for burying in sand.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 36 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 .