Sparus aurata, Gilthead seabream : fisheries, aquaculture, gamefish
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Sparus aurata Linnaeus, 1758

Gilthead seabream
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Sparus aurata   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Sparus aurata (Gilthead seabream)
Sparus aurata
Picture by Pillon, R.

Portugal country information

Common names: Dourada
Occurrence: native
Salinity: brackish
Abundance: occasional (usually not seen) | Ref: Veiga, P., J. Ribeiro, J.M.S. Gonçalves and K. Erzini, 2010
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: commercial | Ref: FAO Fishery Information, Data and Statistics Service, 1993
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Found in Tagus estuary (Ref. 51031). Recorded from the south and southwest coast (Ref. 85184).
National Checklist: Portugal
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/po.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Hureau, J.-C., 1991
National Database: Portuguese Freshwater Fishes

Common names from other countries

Dorade royale, Dorada, Дорада (=аурата), ... more

Classification / Names Populärnamn | synonymer | Catalog of Fishes(Släkte, Arter) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

> Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) > Sparidae (Porgies)
Etymology: Sparus: Latin, sparus = a fish with a golden head (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Linnaeus.

Issue
There has been much confusion in the past literature between the names Chrysophrys aurata/us, Pagrus aurata/us and Sparus aurata/us, that were used for two different species: Sparus aurata Linnaeus, 1758 from the Northeast and Central Atlantic, Pagrus auratus (Forster, 1801) from the West Pacific on one other side on the other side. Check the geographic origin of specimens when these names are used in the literature.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / djupintervall / distribution range Ekologi

marina; brackvatten bottenlevande; djupintervall 1 - 150 m (Ref. 35388), usually 1 - 30 m (Ref. 54890). Subtropical; 62°N - 15°N, 17°W - 43°E (Ref. 54890)

Utbredning Länder | FAO områden | Ekosystem | Förekomster | Prickkarta | Utplanteringar | Faunafri

Eastern Atlantic: British Isles, Strait of Gibraltar to Cape Verde and around the Canary Islands; also in the Mediterranean (Ref. 3688). Reported from the Black Sea (Ref. 12781). Reports from New Zealand refer to Pagrus auratus (Foster 1801) (Ref. 5755, 9258).

Length at first maturity / Size / Vikt / Age

Könsmognad: Lm 36.5, range 33 - 40 cm
Max length : 70.0 cm TL hane/ej könsbestämd; (Ref. 35388); common length : 35.0 cm SL hane/ej könsbestämd; (Ref. 4781); publicerad maxvikt: 17.2 kg (Ref. 40637); rapporterad maxålder: 11 år (Ref. 7253)

Short description Bestämningsnycklar | Morfologi | Morfometri

Taggstrålar i ryggfenan (totalt) : 11; Mjukstrålar i ryggfenan (totalt) : 13 - 14; Taggstrålar i analfenan: 3; Mjukstrålar i analfenan: 11 - 12. Body tall, with large black spot on the gill cover. Snout more than twice as long as the eye diameter (Ref. 35388).
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal.

Biologi     Ordlista (t.ex. epibenthic)

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. A sedentary fish, either solitary or in small aggregations. In spring, they often occur in brackish water coastal lagoons and estuaries. Mainly carnivorous, accessorily herbivorous (Ref. 3688). Feed on shellfish, including mussels and oysters. One of the most important fishes in saline and hypersaline aquaculture. Utilized fresh and eaten steamed, pan-fried, broiled, boiled, microwaved and baked (Ref. 9987).

Life cycle and mating behavior Könsmognad | Reproduktion | Lek | Ägg | Fecundity | Larver

Males become females at about 3 years of age (Ref. 2715, 28504). 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. Spawning happens generally from October to December, with sequenced spawning during the whole period. Incubation lasts about 2 days at 16-1 7°C. Larval stages last about 50 days at 1 7.5°C or about 43 days at 20°C. Egg size 0.9-1.1 mm, larval length at hatching 2.5-3.0 mm. Simultaneous hermaphroditism is suggested for this species (Ref. 103751).

Main reference Upload your references | referenser | Koordinator | Medarbetare

Bauchot, M.-L. and J.-C. Hureau, 1990. Sparidae. p. 790-812. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2. (Ref. 3688)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 19 August 2009

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fiskeri: kommersiell; Vattenbruk: kommersiell; sportfisk: ja
FAO - Aquaculture systems: produktion, species profile; fiskeri: landings, species profile; Publication: search | FIRMS - Stock assessments | FishSource | Sea Around Us

Ytterligare information

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Födosammansättning
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Predatorer
Ekologi
Ekologi
Home ranges
Population dynamics
Tillväxtparametrar
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Rekrytering
Abundans
Life cycle
Reproduktion
Könsmognad
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Lek
Spawning aggregations
Ägg
Egg development
Larver
Larvdynamik
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Anatomy
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Summary page | Point data | Populärnamn | Photos

Internet-källor

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: Släkte, Arter | DiscoverLife | DORIS | ECOTOX | FAO - Aquaculture systems: produktion, species profile; fiskeri: landings, species profile; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | Nationella databaser | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Offentliga akvarier | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, sök | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 12.1 - 21, mean 17.8 °C (based on 258 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 1.0000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01202 (0.01085 - 0.01332), b=3.02 (2.99 - 3.05), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trofisk nivå (Ref. 69278):  3.7   ±0.0 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 4.2 (3.0 - 8.5) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 11 growth studies.
Resiliens (Ref. 120179):  Mellan, lägsta populationsfördubblingstid 1,4-4,4 år (K=0.28; tmax=11; tm=2-3).
Prior r = 0.57, 95% CL = 0.37 - 0.85, Based on 7 data-limited stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low to moderate vulnerability (35 of 100). 🛈
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate vulnerability (41 of 100). 🛈
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Very high.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 63.3 [38.3, 117.5] mg/100g; Iron = 1.03 [0.59, 1.80] mg/100g; Protein = 20.2 [19.2, 21.3] %; Omega3 = 0.655 [0.431, 1.017] g/100g; Selenium = 2 [1, 6] μg/100g; VitaminA = 9.74 [2.44, 37.29] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.315 [0.167, 1.197] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.