This is a general guide to the species of fish Fred Hallam Ltd may stock and does not indicate the origin or method of production of fish available in the shop. Wherever possible, we try to stock fish from sustainable sources

Fish guide A-F

 

Bass (Seabass)

Notes: Seabass belongs to a family of spiny-finned fish called Moronidae, which are closely related to groupers. Bass breed mostly in April, in British coastal and offshore waters. It is a long-lived species, which may exceed 25 years of age, and can achieve a length of up to 1m with a weight of 12 kg. Male bass mature at 31-35 cm (aged 3-6 years) and females mature at 40-45 cm (aged 5-8 years). Once mature bass may migrate within UK coastal waters and occasionally further offshore.

Stocks: Bass is farmed, mainly in Greece, which accounts for 50% of European bass stocks, with other key producers in Spain, France and Italy.  Farmed bass produces much smaller fish.

 

Bream (Gilthead)

Notes: Gilthead bream can grow to lengths of 70 cm and live for as long as 11 years. It is a sedentary species found in depths of up to 150m.

Stocks: Farmed mainly in Greece, but also Spain, France and Italy, in open sea pens and are fed a diet reliant on wild fish capture. Look out for organically farmed sea bream which are farmed with lower stocking densities and fed more sustainable feeds.

 

Brill

Notes: Brill belongs to a small family of left-eyed flatfish (they lie on their right side and both eyes are on the left). They can attain a length of 75cm, but usually no more than 55cm, and a weight of around 2.5kgs for females (who are the larger).

Stocks: Brill is mainly taken as by-catch in beam trawl fisheries in the North Sea. A considerable proportion of the catch is immature and the stock over-exploited.

 

Catshark (Lesser-spotted dogfish)

Notes: Catshark belongs to one of the largest families of sharks, the dogfishes or Scyliorhinidae. Mating occurs from late summer to November, after which females move to spawning grounds in shallower water. The shark embryos are enclosed in cases (called mermaids' purses) whilst they develop and mature (usually around June/July). Females and males mature from 54 to 60 cm in length at around 5 years of age. Catsharks can grow up to 1m in length, maximum age is unknown. They are also marketed as dogfish.

Stocks: Catsharks are one of the few shark species whose numbers appear to be stable at present although they are  vulnerable to over-exploitation as they produce few young.

Cod (Atlantic)

Notes: Cod belongs to a family of fish known as gadoids. It is a cold-temperate  demersal (bottom-dwelling) species. In the North Sea, cod mature at 4-5 years at a length of about 50cms and can live up to 60 years.

Stocks: All North East Atlantic cod stocks are assessed as being overfished, however stocks in the North Sea, Irish Sea, West of Scotland, eastern Channel, eastern Baltic, Greenland, Skaggerak, Kattegat and Norwegian coast are the most heavily depleted. North East Arctic (Barents and Norwegian Sea), Icelandic and Faroese cod stock are healthier. 

Cod  (Pacific)

Notes: North Pacific cod is a moderately fast growing, short-lived species compared to other American demersal  fish. Their maximum estimated age is about 19 years. Spawning generally occurs from January to April.

Stocks: The Pacific cod fishery is well managed  with healthy stocks

Coley

Notes: Coley belongs to the same family as cod and haddock. Coley usually enters coastal waters in spring and returns to deeper water in winter. They spawn from January to March at about 200m depth along the Northern Shelf edge and the western edge of the Norwegian deeps. Saithe can grow up to 130cm and reach ages of more than 25 years.

Stocks: The Northeast Arctic (Barents and Norwegian Sea) saithe stock and the combined saithe stock in the North Sea, Skaggerak, West of Scotland and Rockall is currently harvested sustainably.

Dab

Notes:  Dab is a right-eyed flatfish (both eyes are on the right side of the body) related to the plaice, flounder and sole. It can reach a length of about 40cm and an age of 10-12 years. Spawns in January to August, earliest off Britanny and southern England, later in the North Sea (April to June) and in the Barents Sea (June-July). In the Baltic Sea they spawn in April-August.

Stocks: Choose dab caught by seine netting, a method of fishing which causes less damage to seabed and catch produces better quality fish than that taken in a demersal  trawl. Currently sustainable.

Dogfish (Rock salmon)

Notes: Dogfish belong to the same family as sharks and rays. They give birth to live young. Gestation or pregnancy lasts between 18 and 22 months.

Stocks: The North East Atlantic stock is now considered to be depleted and may be in danger of collapse.

 

Dolphinfish/Dorado/Mahi mahi

Notes:  Dolphin fish or mahi mahi (a Hawaiian word meaning strong-strong) live near the surface in warm, tropical and sub-tropical waters worldwide. Mahi Mahi grow and mature quickly, having a short life span of 3-4 years. They can reach lengths of over 1m in little more than a year and have a maximum size of over 2m and 40 kg.

Stocks: Mahi mahi is a short-lived species and can sustain fishing provided stocks are managed responsibly. It is often taken as by-catch in longline fisheries for tuna.

Eel  (European)

Notes: Eels are catadromous, meaning that they spawn in the sea and return to freshwater streams to grow. The European eel breeds in mid-Atlantic in the Sargasso Sea. Larvae are carried by the Gulf Stream to the continental shelf of Europe in about 1 year where they metamorphose into colourless elvers or glass eels. Elvers then start to move up rivers, in UK in February and April. The freshwater stage is a feeding and growing phase. At this stage they are known as yellow eels. As they mature and grow they change into silver eels. Eels that grow up in freshwater generally become females, while the ones in brackish water become males or females. Males change into silver eels when 6-12 years old (30-48 cm), the females when 10-30 years old (50-130 cm). As they mature sexually they descend the river or migrate to the sea. If silver eels are prevented from returning to the sea, they start to feed again and can live up to 50 years. It is thought that they use the earths magnetic field to find their way to the Sargasso Sea to spawn.

Stocks: There is one single European eel stock. This is severely depleted and at a historical minimum which continues to decline. Eels are exploited in all life stages and those that are fished do not have the chance to breed. Eels spawn only once in their lifetime and it is almost certain they die after spawning. Eels are also farmed but rely on juveniles from wild stocks.

Escolar

Notes: Escolar or snake mackerels   found in tropical and sub-tropical waters beyond the continental edge. Escolar can grow up to 100cm. 

Stocks: There is only a minor commercial fishery for escolar and they are generally taken as by-catch in longline fisheries for tuna. No information is available on their status.

 

Flounder

Notes: A widespread European fish found in both fresh and marine waters in the summer.   Like plaice they spend most of the day buried in the sand, but become very active at night and move into shallower water to feed. Flounder attains a length of 50-60 cms and can live up to 15 years.

Stocks:  There are no targeted fisheries for flounder, they are taken as by-catch in trawl nets.   In Cornwall and North Western & North Wales Sea Fisheries Districts landing flounder below 25 cm is prohibited.