Dieppe fish auction:king scallop, the seasons and how to get fish delivered

01

The Dieppe fish auction in figures

Source: FranceAgriMer, sales declared at fish auctions (2024: workbook published on 2 July 2026; 2023: report of June 2025); ranks calculated by the editorial team.

Dieppe is one of the few fish auctions whose sales have grown strongly in ten years: 2,342 tonnes in 2015, 6,098 in 2024, two and a half times more. 2024 volumes gained a further 11% on 2023, but value fell by 3%: the average price of king scallop went from €3.20 to €2.82/kg.

Two fishing methods make up almost the whole fish auction: dredgers (48% of volumes and of value in 2024) and the trawlers FranceAgriMer classes as "non-exclusive" (44% of volumes, 43% of value) (editorial team's calculation from FranceAgriMer data). The port of Dieppe describes its fleet as "a fleet of 80 scallop dredgers, trawlers and gillnetters".

02

Which species can you find in Dieppe?

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

Apart from king scallop, Dieppe mainly sells whelk (third fish auction in France, after Granville and Fécamp) and cuttlefish. Fish account for only a few per cent of the value. For king scallop, the Dieppe average price (€2.82/kg) is the highest of the top five king scallop fish auctions in 2024, ahead of Port-en-Bessin (€2.60/kg), Saint-Quay-Portrieux (€2.25/kg), Erquy (€2.13/kg) and Granville (€2.03/kg), against a national average of €2.50/kg. The FranceAgriMer 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. Dieppe accounts for one fifth of the king scallop sold at auction: its season can partly be read in the national curve.

King scallop is fished from October to May at most: fishing is closed everywhere from 15 May to 30 September inclusive (order of 12 May 2003). In 2026, the Eastern Channel sector reopened on Thursday 1 October (order No 171/2026 of the prefect of the Normandy region), with at most one landing per day, and fishing days set week by week. On prices, the national average went from about €2.30/kg in January 2024 to €2/kg in May, at the end of the season, then from €2.60/kg in October to €2.90/kg in December, with the holidays.

04

How does the sale work?

• A sale every weekday morning. The auction takes place Monday to Friday, from 5:30 am (port of Dieppe).
• A computerised sale, linked to Fécamp. Products are sold to fish merchants in the sale room, including over the Internet; the system is linked to that of the Fécamp fish auction (port of Dieppe).
• Declared buyers with the manager of the auction hall, with proof of registration, VAT number and a guarantee covering purchases (Article D932-9 of the French rural code).
• A port run by a public operator. The Régie dieppoise des activités portuaires manages and operates the port, fishing included, on the territory of the Syndicat mixte Ports de Normandie; twelve of its staff run the fish auction and the auction hall.

05

The fish merchants of Dieppe

Around the port, fish merchanting (mareyage) companies buy at the auction hall, sort, grade, shell or pack and ship. At the height of the king scallop season, the work is split between whole scallops, sold live by weight, and scallop meat, with or without roe. The two do not compare at the same price: always ask what the price list line refers to. The price list guide explains how to read it, and our king scallop profile details size grades and yield.

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

06

How to get fish delivered from Dieppe?

For an importer, the pattern is the same up to departure: the fish merchant prepares, and the freight forwarder takes over. For export, see our English section and the directory of French seafood suppliers.