Fish

1. LAGOON FISHES

• White seabream or Sargo (Diplodus sargus)

White seabream (Diplodus sargus sargus) was first described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778). It inhabits the depths of up to 50 meters. It prefers to swim in the coastal zone close to the rocky bottom and thickets of Posidonia. It often swims to the inshore at dawn.

• Annular seabream (Diplodus annularis)

Inhabit chiefly Zostera seagrass beds but also found on Posidonia beds and sandy bottoms, rarely on rocky bottoms. Carnivorous, feed on worms, crustaceans, mollusks, echinoderms and hydrozoans.

• Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata)

The gilt-head (sea) bream (Sparus aurata), known as Orata in antiquity and still today in Italy and Tunisia (known as "Dorada" in Spain, "Dourada" in Portugal and "Dorade Royale" in France), is a fish of the bream family Sparidae found in the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern coastal regions of the North Atlantic Ocean. It commonly reaches about 35 centimetres (1.15 ft) in length, but may reach 70 cm (2.3 ft) and weigh up to about 7.36 kilograms (16.2 lb).The gilt-head bream is generally considered the best tasting of the breams. It is the single species of the genus Sparus – the Latin name for this fish – which has given the whole family of Sparidae its name. Its specific name, aurata, derives from the gold bar marking between its eyes. The genome of the species was released in 2018, where the authors detected fast evolution of ovary-biased genes likely resulting from the peculiar reproduction mode of the species.

1. Sand steenbras (Lithognathus mormyrus)
   The sand steenbras or striped seabream (Lithognathus mormyrus) is a species of marine fish in the family Sparidae. It is found in shallow water in the Mediterranean Sea and in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from France to South Africa. The IUCN has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".

The sand steenbras is a moderately deep-bodied fish that can grow to a length of about 55 cm (22 in), with a weight of around 1 kg (2.2 lbs), but a more common size is 30 cm (12 in). Its head is about as long as it is high and its upper profile is slightly convex. The dorsal fin has eleven spines and twelve to thirteen soft rays. The pectoral fin is shorter than the head and has fifteen to seventeen soft rays. The anal fin has three spines and ten to eleven soft rays. The head and body are silver, the body being marked with about fourteen vertical dark bands.

The species is widely distributed in shallow seas at depths down to about 150 m (492 ft). It is found in estuaries and bays over sandy and muddy seabeds and sea grass meadows.

The sand steenbras feeds mainly on invertebrates which it picks off the seabed. Its diet includes gastropod molluscs, bivalve molluscs, polychaete worms, crabs, amphipods, copepods, sea urchins and small fish. It is gregarious and sometimes forms large schools.

As a protandric hermaphrodite, the sand steenbras starts its adult life as a male and later changes its sex to female. In the Mediterranean Sea it reaches maturity as a male at age two, at a length of about 14 cm (6 in), and changes sex at age four to seven at a length of about 21 to 28 cm (8 to 11 in).

This fish is caught for human consumption throughout most of its range but is not in general a targeted species due to its small size. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".

1. Sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)
   The European bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) is a primarily ocean-going fish native to the waters off Europe's western and southern and Africa's northern coasts, though it can also be found in shallow coastal waters and river mouths during the summer months. It is one of only six species in its family, Moronidae, collectively called the temperate basses.

It is both fished and raised commercially, and is considered to be the most important fish currently cultured in the Mediterranean. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, the popular restaurant fish sold and consumed as sea bass is exclusively the European bass. In North America it is widely known by one of its Italian names, branzino.

European bass are a slow-growing species that takes several years to reach full adulthood. An adult European seabass usually weighs around 5 kg (11 lb). European bass can reach sizes of up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in length and 12 kg (26 lb) in weight, though the most common size is only about half of that at 0.5 m (1 ft 8 in). Individuals are silvery grey in color and sometimes a dark-bluish color on the back.

Juveniles form schools and feed on invertebrates, while adults are less social and prefer to consume other fish. They are generally found in the littoral zone near the banks of rivers, lagoons, and estuaries during the summer, and migrate offshore during the winter. European sea bass feed on prawns, crabs and small fish. Though it is a sought-after gamefish, it is listed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature because it is widespread and there are no known major threats.

• Salema porgy

Sarpa salpa, known commonly as the dreamfish, salema, salema porgy, cow bream or goldline, is a species of sea bream, recognisable by the golden stripes that run down the length of its body, and which can cause ichthyoallyeinotoxism when eaten. It is generally common and found from near the surface to a depth of 70 m (230 ft). Males are typically 15 to 30 cm (6–12 in) in length, while females are usually 31 to 45 cm (12–18 in).[4] The maximum size is 51 cm (20 in).

Sarpa salpa became widely known for its ichthyoallyeinotoxic effects following widely publicized articles in 2006, when two men ingested it at a Mediterranean restaurant and began to experience many auditory and visual hallucinogenic effects. These hallucinations, described as frightening, were reported to have occurred two hours after the fish was ingested and had a total duration of 36 hours. The fish, and especially its viscera, have been assessed as potentially unsafe by a study conducted on Mediterranean specimens. It is believed that the fish ingests a particular algae or phytoplankton which renders it ichthyoallyeinotoxic.

• Mugil cephalus

The flathead grey mullet is an important food fish species in the mullet family Mugilidae. It is found in coastal tropical and subtropical waters worldwide. Its length is typically 30 to 75 centimetres (12 to 30 in). It is known with numerous English names, including the flathead mullet, striped mullet, black mullet, bully mullet, common mullet, grey mullet, sea mullet and mullet, among others.

The flathead grey mullet is a mainly diurnal coastal species that often enters estuaries and rivers. It usually schools over sand or mud bottoms, feeding on zooplankton. The adult fish normally feed on algae in fresh water. The species is euryhaline, meaning that the fish can acclimate to different levels of salinity.

The back of the fish is olive-green, sides are silvery and shade to white towards the belly. The fish may have six to seven distinctive lateral horizontal stripes. Lips are thin. The mullet has no lateral line. A common length is about 50 centimetres (20 in), and its maximum length is 100 centimetres (39 in). It can reach a maximum weight of eight kilograms (18 lb).

• Red mullets (Mullus spp.)

Mullus is a subtropical marine genus of perciform fish of the family Mullidae (goatfish) and includes the red mullets. Members of the genus Mullus can be found in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Mediterranean Sea. They are often found over soft substrates such as sand in which they search for prey using sensitive "whiskers".

The most commercially important of these species is the Red Mullet (Mullus barbatus) which is common in Mediterranean cuisine and often fished for using seine nets, a practice thought to be damaging as it can remove large numbers of spawning fish.

1. Liza ramada

Diagnosis: Ηead broad, space between eyes about equal to width of mouth cleft; adipose eyelid poorly developed; upper lip thin, less than pupil diameter; corner of mouth cleft reaching to below posterior nostril; hind edge of pre-orbital round. Pectoral axillary scale rudimentary or absent. Scales on head extend forward to level of front nostril. Colour: back grey/blue, flanks and belly pale or silvery, usually with A feeble longitudinal stripes along scale rows; black axillary spot at pectoral fin base. Size: to 50 cm SL.

Habitat: pelagic, usually inshore, entering lagoons and estuaries and rivers. Food: epiphytic algae, detritus and small benthic or planktonic organisms. Reproduction: October-December. In some countries these fishes are cultivated in ponds or enclosures.

• Eels (Anguilliformes)

Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage, and are usually predators.

The term "eel" is also used for some other eel-shaped fish, such as electric eels (genus Electrophorus), spiny eels (family Mastacembelidae), swamp eels (family Synbranchidae), and deep-sea spiny eels (family Notacanthidae). These other clades, however, evolved their eel-like shapes independently from the true eels. Eels live both in salt water and fresh water and some species are catadromous. The European conger is the heaviest of all eels.

Eels are elongated fish, ranging in length from 5 cm (2 in) in the one-jawed eel (Monognathus ahlstromi) to 4 m (13 ft) in the slender giant moray. Adults range in weight from 30 g (1 oz) to well over 25 kg (55 lb). They possess no pelvic fins, and many species also lack pectoral fins. The dorsal and anal fins are fused with the caudal fin, forming a single ribbon running along much of the length of the animal. Eels swim by generating waves which travel the length of their bodies. They can swim backwards by reversing the direction of the wave. Most eels live in the shallow waters of the ocean and burrow into sand, mud, or amongst rocks. A majority of eel species are nocturnal, thus are rarely seen. Sometimes, they are seen living together in holes, or "eel pits". Some species of eels also live in deeper water on the continental shelves and over the slopes deep as 4,000 m (13,000 ft). Only members of the Anguilla regularly inhabit fresh water, but they, too, return to the sea to breed.

The heaviest true eel is the European conger. The maximum size of this species has been reported as reaching a length of 3 m (10 ft) and a weight of 110 kg (240 lb). Other eels are longer, but do not weigh as much, such as the slender giant moray which reaches 4 m (13 ft).

1. European bullhead (Cottus gobio) 

The European bullhead is a freshwater fish that is widely distributed in Europe, mainly in rivers. It is a member of the family Cottidae, a type of sculpin. It is also known as the miller's thumb, freshwater sculpin, and common bullhead.

The European bullhead is a small demersal fish that lives both in cold, clear, fast-flowing small streams and in middle-sized rivers. It also occurs on gravelly shores of cold lakes. Further, it thrives in diluted brackish water of the Northern Baltic Sea.

The bullhead has a large broad head and tapering body, large fins and a rounded tail. The eyes are located near the top of the head. It can be distinguished from the fourhorn sculpin by the fact that the dorsal and anal fins terminate close to the tail giving a short caudal peduncle. When it rests on the bottom, the pectoral fins flare out resembling wings. The bullhead is usually about 6 to 8 cm (2.4 to 3.1 in) long and is light brown mottled with darker colour. The pelvic fins are colourless and lack the stripes of the alpine bullhead.

Food items eaten by the bullhead include benthic insects, crustaceans and other invertebrates. It breeds in the spring. The male digs a shallow hollow in which batches of eggs are deposited by several females. He then guards the nest for the month or so that it takes for the eggs to hatch.

• Solea vulgaris

The common sole, Dover sole, or black sole (Solea solea) is a species of flatfish in the family Soleidae. It is one of the largest fish in the Solea genus. It lives on the sandy or muddy seabed of the northern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea where it often semi-immerses itself in the substrate. The upper side is greyish-brown while the underside is white. It grows to a maximum length of about 70 cm (28 in). The species is prized as a food fish, being caught mostly by trawling on the seabed.

The small eyes are close to each other on the right side of the body. This gives the fish the possibility of lurking half-buried in the sand for passing prey. The common sole, just like all other flatfishes, hatches as an "ordinary" fish with one eye on each side of the body. The young metamorphose to flatfish when they are about one centimeter long. The upper side is greyish-brown and the underside is white. The common sole approaches a maximum length of 70 cm (28 in). It has a preference for relatively shallow water (10-60 m) with sand or mud covering the bottom. They can be found at depths up to 200 m. Their preferred temperature range is from 8–24 °C.