Brest fish auction:lobster and spiny lobster, the seasons and how to get fish delivered

01

The Brest fish auction in figures

Source: FranceAgriMer, sales declared at fish auctions in 2024; ranks calculated by the editorial team on 34 auction halls.

Volumes fell by 6% in one year and value by 2%, after a 2023 that was the highest of the decade. Over ten years, Brest goes against the tide: 1,497 tonnes in 2015, 2,511 in 2024, two thirds more, while French fish auctions as a whole lost a quarter of their volumes. The average price, €5.85/kg, is well above the national average (€4.13/kg).

The fleet is inshore. Gillnetters, alone or combined with pots (gillnetter-potters), brought 43% of volumes and 56% of value in 2024; "exclusive" trawlers 23% of volumes and 13% of value, dredgers 23% of volumes and 7% of value, potters 8% of value (editorial team's calculation from FranceAgriMer data).

02

Which species can you find in Brest?

Source: FranceAgriMer, 2024 data; shares (by volume) and ranks calculated by the editorial team on the total of French fish auctions.

Monkfish and spiny lobster each make up 16% of the value sold, but not with the same volumes: 414 tonnes of monkfish, 51 tonnes of spiny lobster at more than €45/kg on average. Nearly one in three European spiny lobsters sold at auction in France goes through Brest, and one lobster in eight; with 34 tonnes, brown crab is also sold there more than anywhere else, except Roscoff.

Octopus was more than halved in one year (419 tonnes in 2023, 166 in 2024), and spiny lobster rose by 60% (32 tonnes in 2023). Among shellfish, warty venus clam weighs more than king scallop in the national share: 15% of the warty venus clams sold at auction, against less than 1% of king scallops. King scallop, on the other hand, sells there at almost twice the national average (€4.95/kg against €2.50/kg); the data do not say why.

03

When to buy what? The calendar of the leading species

The calendar marks the months of high landings, read from the monthly sales of all French fish auctions in 2024. European spiny lobster, blonde ray, turbot and brown crab do not appear in it: we have not recorded their monthly rhythm.

Price often moves against volumes, and the holidays weigh on end-of-year products. Monkfish stayed around €5.50 to €5.80/kg for a good part of 2024 at national level, then rose to €6.40/kg in November and more than €9/kg in December. Warty venus clam was worth less than €4/kg in September and October, and more than €6/kg in November and December. Octopus stayed around €7/kg almost all year and went above €9/kg in December. Spider crab, plentiful in spring, stayed below €2/kg, except in August, when landings fell.

04

How does the sale work?

• Auctions reserved for buyers declared to the manager of the auction hall (Article D932-9 of the French rural code). The sale time is not published: check with the fish auction or your fish merchant.
• A fish auction in the commercial port, on the third jetty. In northern Finistère, the only other fish auction hall listed by FranceAgriMer is Roscoff, less than 70 km away.
• A regional concession. The Brittany Region, responsible since 1 January 2007, has granted the port's fishing activity to the Société de la Criée de Brest, under a contract running from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2029.

05

The fish merchants of northern Finistère

Around the port, fish merchanting (mareyage) companies buy at the auction hall, sort, grade, pack and ship; for crustaceans, part is sold live. On these crustaceans, the weight per piece changes everything in the price: always ask for it. The size grades guide explains how to read them, and the price list guide how to compare two offers.

We do not publish a list of fish merchants. Company profiles will come with their agreement.

06

How to get fish delivered from Brest?