European Seabass

Biology and habitat

Species description
The European seabass belongs to the family of Moronidae.  

Geographical distribution and habitat
The European seabass lives along the coastal waters of the North-East Atlantic, in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.

Resource, exploitation and management

Stock and resource status/conservation measures
Minimum conservation reference sizes are established at 25 cm of total length in the Mediterranean Sea and 42 cm in other fishing areas.

Production methods and fishing gears
The main fishing gears used are gillnets and similar nets, hooks and lines, seines and trawls.

Source: Information system on commercial designations

Catches

Evolution of world catches (tonnes)

• The global catches of European seabass reached 5.556 tonnes in 2023, i.e 0,006% of total global catches. The species is mainly farmed.
• Catches are declined in 2015 and have remained stable since (despite a small increase in 2020). The EU accounted for 82% of the global seabass catches in 2023.

Source: FAO

Evolution of EU catches (tonnes)

EU catches of European seabass amounted to 4.411 tonnes in 2023. France provided 60% of EU catches the same year, but its production has significantly decreased between 2014 and 2018 (-37%), as a result of the management measures taken at EU and national levels following the decline of seabass resource. Since 2018, French catches remained relatively stable.

Source: FAO

Aquaculture production

Evolution of world aquaculture production

The world production has almost doubled between 2014 and 2021 before stabilising around 290.000 tonnes (286.968 tonnes in 2023). The growth is more significant in non-EU countries than in EU Member States (+115% vs +38%). Turkey is the largest producer globally and has continuously increased its production between 2014 to 2023 (+115%).

Source: FAO

Evolution of EU aquaculture production

• With a production over 86.500 tonnes in 2023, the EU provided 30% of the global production of seabass. Greece and Spain provided 79% of EU production.
• The EU production has recorded a 52% increase between 2014 and 2021, driven mainly by an upward trend in Greece (+59%), Spain (+38%), and Croatia (+183%). Since 2021, production from all MS has slightly decreased, even though there is an overall increase of 38% over the analysed period (2014-2023).

Source: FAO

Processing

In the EU, the European seabass is mainly consumed fresh. There are only small activities of processing: filleting, packing, marinating and smoking in the most important producers (e.g. Greece, Spain, Italy and Croatia) (source: Price structure in the supply chain for seabass, EUMOFA, 2024).

Trade

EU-27 trade of European seabass (2024 – tonnes)

Extra-EU imports
IIn 2024, the EU imported over 30.000 tonnes of seabass. Almost all extra-EU imports concerned fresh seabass. Turkey was by far the main supplier, with 98% of the EU imports. Imports from Turkey have fluctuated over the period and reached their highest value of the period in 2024. Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain were the main importers (respectively 29%, 28%, 19% and 14% of the EU imports in 2024).

Extra-EU exports
In 2024, extra-EU exports of seabass reached over 14.700 tonnes. They were mainly composed of fresh seabass, the frozen fish representing only 1% of the total. In 2024, main EU exporters were Greece, Italy and the Netherlands which covered 76% of all extra-EU exports. The main countries of destination for fresh seabass were the United States and Israel which covered 45% and 23% of volumes exported to third countries in 2024, respectively.

Source: EUROSTAT- COMEXT

Supply balance

EU supply balance (2023) – Tonnes of live weight equivalent – European seabass:

Source: FAO/EUROSTAT-COMEXT

Supply balance is provided for the year 2023 (trade data for 2023 were taken into account). Detailed trade data provided in the slide 5 concern the year 2024. 
The conversion factors were used to convert net weight of imports and exports of fishery and aquaculture products into live weight equivalents.

Prices along the supply chain (EUR/kg)

When data is available, prices are provided for wild and farmed seabass, as significant price difference could be noticed between the two types of fish. 

First-sale (wild)/Ex-farm (farmed) - (fresh)
First-sale and ex-farm prices are provided for the main EU producers, namely France, Spain and Greece.

(*) From January to September 2025

Wholesale (fresh)
Wholesale prices are reported for Mercabarna (Barcelona, Spain) and in Rungis (Paris, France).

(*) From January to October 2025

Retail/consumption (fresh)
Retail prices refer to France, Greece, Spain, and Italy which are among the major EU consumer countries.

(*) From January to July 2025

Extra-EU import (fresh)
European seabass is mainly imported fresh from Turkey. In 2024, the main importers were Italy, Greece, Netherlands and Spain.

(*) From January to September 2025

Extra-EU export (fresh)
European seabass is mainly exported fresh. Greece, Spain, and Cyprus were the main exporters in 2024.

(*) From January to September 2025

Marketing

National lists of commercial designations

Information system on commercial designations and scientific names in all EU languages

Applicable marketing standards

Consumption

Seabass is not among the 15th most consumed species in EU (source: The EU Fish Market – 2025 edition, EUMOFA

Apparent consumption per capita of European seabass in 2023: 0,23 kg live weight equivalent (source: Supply balance – 2023, EUMOFA).

Nutritional value (European seabass, wild, North East Atlantic, fresh fillet, values per 100 g – source : NUTRAQUA/AQUIMER)