Buyer's guides

Seafood seasonality calendar:French fish, shellfish and crustaceans month by month

40 French seafood species month by month: peak season, lows, spawning, closures. And why season, quality and price do not coincide.

Updated 26 October 202611 min readLiveCriée editorial team

Contents

Fishing season, flesh quality and price: three different things
The calendar, species by species
How to read this calendar when buying
The closures that weigh on supply
The current month
Frequently asked questions

The seasonality calendar shows, month by month, when a species arrives in abundance at French fish auctions, when it becomes scarce, and when it is better avoided because of spawning, moulting or a regulatory fishing closure. For a professional buyer, it serves three purposes: building a menu or a fish counter that holds up, anticipating supply breaks, and knowing whether a price is normal for the season.

The table below covers 40 French seafood species. It is based on the monthly sales of all French fish auctions in 2024 published by FranceAgriMer, supplemented by regulatory texts (closures, sizes) and, for farmed shellfish, by industry sources.

Fishing season, flesh quality and price: three different things

"Season" is used for three realities that do not always coincide.

The fishing season is when the species arrives at auction. It depends on migrations, weather, quotas and closures. King scallops, for example, are not fished from 15 May to 30 September.
Flesh quality depends on the biological cycle. In summer, the diploid Pacific oyster fills with reproductive products: it is "milky" (laiteuse). For fish too, flesh and yield vary from one time of year to another: this has to be judged on delivery, species by species.
Price follows supply, but also demand. When a species is plentiful, its price falls: langoustine sold at auction at around €10 to €11/kg in May and June 2024, then at around €20/kg from August to November. When demand soars, the price rises even if supply does not change: monkfish, available all year round, goes from about €5.50/kg to more than €9/kg in December 2024, because of the holidays.

Buying in peak season generally means more choice, more regular size grades and a better price. But peak season and best quality do not always overlap: the "why" column of the table points this out.

The calendar, species by species

Species	J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D	Why the lows, the peaks and the months to avoid
Fish
Sea bass	●●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●●	Commercial fishing closed in February and March in the English Channel, North Sea and Celtic Sea, but national auction sales remain steady in those two months (about 210 t in February 2024), from the areas that stayed open; price at its highest in summer (about €22/kg against €10 in January)
Dover sole	●	●	●●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	Biggest landings in March (about 560 t in 2024, more than double January); vessels of 8 m and over using nets, pelagic or pair trawls, or pelagic seines stay in port for one month in the Bay of Biscay (from 22 January to 20 February from 2024 to 2026), with no fall in national February sales compared with January; price at its highest from April to September
Turbot	○	○	●	●●	●●	●●	●●	●	●	●	○	○	Landings concentrated from April to July, highest in May and June; few landings from November to February; December price (about €40/kg) more than twice the May price
Brill	●	●	●●	●●	●●	●	●	●	●	●	○	○	Few landings at the end of the year, highest price in December
John Dory	●	●	●	●	●●	●●	●●	●	●	●	●	●	Available all year round, more plentiful from May to July
Monkfish (anglerfish)	●	●	●	●	●●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	All year round; December price clearly above the rest of the year
Pollack	●	●	●●	●	●	●●	●●	●●	●	●	●	●	Best landings from June to August, with a peak in March
Hake	●	●	●●	●●	●●	●	●	●	○	●	●	●	Peak from March to May; winter closure in the Bay of Biscay (gillnetters, pelagic and pair trawls, pelagic seines), late January and February from 2024 to 2026
Whiting	●●	●●	●●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	○	○	Peak in February, low in November and December
Saithe	●	●	●●	●●	●●	●●	●●	●	●	○	○	○	Very low landings at the end of 2024
Haddock	●	●	●●	●	●●	●	●●	●	●	○	●	○	Available all year round, with peaks in March, May and July; lower in October and December
Gilthead sea bream	○	○	●	●	●	●	●	●	●●	●●	●	●	Very marked peak in October; very few landings at the start of the year
Black sea bream (griset)	●	●●	●●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	February and March the most plentiful
Red mullet	●	○	●	●	●●	●	●	●	●	●●	●	●	Two high points: May, then October
Red gurnard	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●●	●●	●●	●	●	Late summer and autumn
Mackerel	●	●	●	●	●●	●	●	●	●●	●●	●	●	Two peaks, May then September and October; price at its highest in December
Sardine	●	○	●	●	●	●	●●	●●	●●	●●	○	○	Season from July to October; few landings in February and November, almost nothing in December
Herring	●●	●●	●	○							●●	●●	Winter fish, from November to March, with a clear peak in November; about 400 t sold per year at the Boulogne-sur-Mer auction hall, at €0.60 to €0.70/kg (2024 and 2025)
Albacore						○	●●	●●	●●	●●			Summer and autumn season, nothing from November to May
Atlantic bluefin tuna			○	○	○	●	●●	●●	●●	●●	○	○	Fishing under quota; most auction sales from July to October, highest in July
Meagre				○	●	●●	●	●	●	●●	●	●	Almost absent from January to March
Rays	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	Cuckoo, thornback and blonde rays available all year round
Megrim	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	Steady all year round
Wedge sole (céteau)	●	●	●	●	●●	●●	●●	●	●	●	●	○	Late spring and early summer
Cephalopods
Cuttlefish	●	●	●	●●	●	○	○	●	●	●●	●●	●	Low in June and July; peak in October
Squid (calmar, encornet)	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●●	●●	●●	Peak from October to December (more than 1,000 t a month in 2024), low from April to June
Octopus	●	●	●	●	●	●	○	○	●	●●	●●	●	Summer low, peak in October and November
Crustaceans
Langoustine (Norway lobster)	○	○	●	●●	●●	●●	●●	●	○	○	○	○	Scarce in winter; price of about €20/kg from August to December against €10 to €11 in spring
European lobster	○	○	●	●	●●	●●	●●	●●	●	○	○	○	Season from May to August; in December, few landings and price doubled
European spiny lobster (langouste rouge)				○	●	●●	●●	●●	●●	●	○	●●	Almost absent from fish auctions from January to March
Brown crab	○	○	○	●	●●	●●	●●	●●	●●	●	○	○	Season from May to September at auction; December price at its highest
Spider crab	●	●	●●	●●	●●	●●	●	●	○	●	○	●	Low from September to November
Common prawn (crevette bouquet)	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	●	●●	●●	●●	Autumn and winter season
Shellfish
King scallop	●●	●●	●●	●	○	✕	✕	✕	✕	●●	●●	●●	Closed from 15 May to 30 September; opening bed by bed from 1 October
Warty venus clam (praire)	●	●	●	●					●	●●	●●	●●	Almost absent from fish auctions from May to August; highest landings from October to December
Whelk	●	●	●●	●●	●●	●●	●	○	○	●	○	●	Spring and early summer; low from August to November
Pacific oyster	●	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●●	●●	Milky in summer in diploids; triploids produce very few gametes; the Marennes Oléron PGI is only sold from 1 September to 31 May
European flat oyster	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●●	●●	●●	Indicative calendar: species absent from the FranceAgriMer report
Bouchot mussel	●	○				○	●●	●●	●●	●●	●	●	PDO of the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel: harvest from 15 June to 15 February, opening set each year according to the flesh content (usually in July, INAO); out of season in spring
Sea urchin (Mediterranean)	●	●	✕	✕	✕	✕	✕	✕	✕	✕	✕	●	Bouches-du-Rhône and Var: fishing open from 15 December to the end of February for the 2023 to 2026 seasons, by prefectoral order; Alpes-Maritimes until 15 April for professionals; a 2026 draft order would move the end of the season to 31 March

●● peak season: the highest landings of the year. ● available. ○ scarce or to avoid: very low landings, spawning, milkiness or moulting (see the last column). ✕ regulatory closure. Empty cell: out of season, almost absent from fish auctions. National rhythm of auction sales (FranceAgriMer, 2024); it varies from one port to another. Reading supplemented by the texts cited in the sources. Prices are average first-sale prices at auction, rounded.

How to read this calendar when buying

It describes France as a whole, not your port. A species can be in peak season at Boulogne-sur-Mer and scarce at Le Guilvinec in the same month. The port pages, such as the Le Guilvinec page, give a local calendar.

It counts auction sales. Part of the crustaceans (brown crab, spider crab, lobster) and almost all farmed shellfish do not go through the auction hall. For these species, the calendar gives a trend, not a volume.

The closures that weigh on supply

Four closures weigh on supply and show on price lists:

Closure	Period	What the buyer sees
King scallop, all areas	From 15 May to 30 September	No more fresh French-caught scallops in summer; gradual return in October
Sea bass, English Channel, North Sea and Celtic Sea	February and March (annual European Union regulation; in 2026, Regulation (EU) 2026/249)	No more sea bass caught in these areas; national auction sales remain steady, from the areas that stayed open
Bay of Biscay, vessels of 8 m and over using gillnets or trammel nets, pelagic or pair trawls, or pelagic seines	From 22 January to 20 February in 2024, 2025 and 2026; in 2027, thirty consecutive days chosen by each vessel owner between 15 January and 27 February	Less sole, hake and sea bass from the Bay of Biscay for one month
Sea urchin in Provence	From 1 March to 14 December in the Bouches-du-Rhône and the Var, for the 2023 to 2026 seasons (prefectoral order); a 2026 draft order provides for 1 April to 14 December	Fresh Mediterranean sea urchin limited to the end of the year and winter

For 2027, the Bay of Biscay closure lasts thirty consecutive days, chosen by each vessel owner between 15 January and 27 February 2027 and declared before 1 December 2026 (failing a declaration: from 22 January to 20 February 2027); French order of 9 September 2026. The exact dates of the other closures are confirmed each year with the French interregional directorates of the sea.

The current month

Each month has its own page, with what arrives at auction, what becomes scarce, substitution ideas for the menu and points to watch on prices:

Seafood in season in October: return of the king scallop, peak of gilthead sea bream and cuttlefish.
Seafood in season in November: sea bass, herring, common prawn, octopus.
Seafood in season in December: king scallops at their highest, oysters, and holiday prices.

Frequently asked questions

What is a fish in season?

It is a species that arrives in abundance at fish auctions at that time of year, outside any closure period and, as far as possible, outside the spawning period. In season, choice, regularity of size grades and price are generally more favourable to the buyer.

Why does the price of a species rise when it is in season?

Because price also depends on demand. In December, king scallop landings are at their highest and the average auction price still rises, pulled up by the holidays. The same goes for monkfish, whose supply stays steady but whose price jumps in December.

Should fish be avoided during spawning?

Not necessarily, but you need to know it and judge the flesh on delivery: its firmness and fillet yield vary through the year. For Pacific oysters, summer is the period when diploids are milky; triploids, which produce very few gametes, are hardly milky.

Are oysters only eaten in months with an "r"?

The rule comes from the milky oysters of summer, the maturation period. Triploid oysters, which produce very few gametes, are also sold in summer. The "Huîtres Marennes Oléron" PGI, on the other hand, is only marketed from 1 September to 31 May, according to its product specification.

When can fresh king scallops be found?

From October to mid-May. Fishing is closed from 15 May to 30 September, and each bed (Bay of Saint-Brieuc, Bay of the Seine, etc.) has its own opening days and hours.

Does this calendar apply to farmed fish?

No. It describes the sales of wild-caught fish at auction; farmed sea bass, gilthead sea bream or turbot do not follow these seasons. For farmed shellfish, it follows their biological cycle and their sales periods.

Sources

FranceAgriMer, report on sales declared at fish auctions, 2025 data (workbook published on 2 July 2026, 2024 monthly quantities and average prices by species, and squid in 2025), read on 23 October 2026: https://www.franceagrimer.fr/sites/default/files/2026-07/BIL-MER-VENTES_HAM-A25.xlsm
FranceAgriMer, Données de ventes déclarées en halles à marée en 2024 (sales declared at fish auctions in 2024), edition of 6 June 2025 (monthly change in quantities and average prices by species, all French fish auctions, 2023 and 2024): https://www.franceagrimer.fr/sites/default/files/2025-06/BIL-MER-VENTES_HAM-A24.pdf
RVO (Netherlands Enterprise Agency, a public agency), "Seabass", page checked on 23 December 2025 and read on 23 October 2026: total ban in February and March 2026, Council Regulation (EU) 2026/249: https://english.rvo.nl/topics/seabass
French National Assembly, question to the government No 1233 (17th legislature), Bay of Biscay closure since 22 January 2026: https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/dyn/17/questions/QANR5L17QG1233
French order of 9 September 2026 setting spatial and temporal measures to reduce bycatch of small cetaceans in the Bay of Biscay for 2027, NOR TECM2623771A, JORF No 0212 of 11 September 2026, text No 12 (vessels and gears concerned, 30 consecutive days between 15 January and 27 February 2027, declaration before 1 December 2026): https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000054826534
Ifremer, press release on the king scallop assessment surveys, October 2024: https://ifremer.fr/sites/default/files/2024-10/cp_csj_2024.pdf
DIRM Méditerranée, presentation note and draft order setting the dates when sea urchin fishing is prohibited in the Bouches-du-Rhône, the Var and the Alpes-Maritimes (public consultation from 7 to 28 September 2026; reminder of order No R93-2023-09-29-00001 of 29 September 2023, issued for three years), read on 23 October 2026: https://www.dirm.mediterranee.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/note_presentation_au_public_oursins_pm.pdf and https://www.dirm.mediterranee.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/projet_ap_dates_peche_oursin_paca_.pdf
French Ministry of Agriculture, notice published in BO-Agri No 2024-1 and product specification of the "Huîtres Marennes Oléron" PGI approved by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2715 ("commercialisées du 1er septembre jusqu'au 31 mai", marketed from 1 September to 31 May), read on 23 October 2026: https://info.agriculture.gouv.fr/boagri/document_administratif-33487cbb-8811-484e-9387-76fa358495f7/telechargement
Product specification of the "Moules de bouchot de la baie du Mont-Saint-Michel" PDO, approved by order of 5 May 2026 (JORF of 7 May 2026), point 5.2 (harvest from 15 June to 15 February), read on 23 October 2026: https://info.agriculture.gouv.fr/boagri/document_administratif-3ec1a3dc-0224-443a-95ce-db6bbad66e86/telechargement
S. Lapègue (Ifremer) and T. Renault, "Les apports de la génétique dans la filière ostréicole française" (the contributions of genetics to the French oyster industry), Bulletin de l'Académie vétérinaire de France, 2019 (summer maturation of diploids, low gamete production of triploids), read on 23 October 2026: https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00498/60931/64326.pdf
Port Boulogne Calais, press kit of 21 January 2026, 2025 review (herring: 411 t in 2025, 395 t in 2024, €0.62 and €0.69/kg): https://www.portboulognecalais.fr/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/dp_bilan-2025_port-boulogne-calais.pdf
A. Maucorps, "La campagne harenguière 1964-65 dans le Pas-de-Calais" (the 1964-65 herring season in the Pas-de-Calais), Ifremer (archives), 1965 (season from November to February): https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/1965/publication-7246.pdf