La Rochelle fish auction:Chef de Baie, its species, its seasons and how to get fish delivered

01

The La Rochelle 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.

In 2024, the fish auction sold 18% less fish than in 2023, but value fell by only 3%: the average price gained 17%. The drop mainly comes from hake, down from 693 to 413 tonnes. Over ten years, volumes remain of the same order (1,946 tonnes in 2015). La Rochelle is the second fish auction in Charente-Maritime, behind Oléron (La Cotinière), and ahead of Royan.

Gillnetters dominate: they brought 34% of volumes and 32% of value in 2024. Then come trawlers (27% of volumes, exclusive and non-exclusive trawlers combined) and demersal seiners (17%) (editorial team's calculation from FranceAgriMer data). The port also fits out an offshore fishery: in 2021, about ten La Rochelle vessels were fitted out for offshore fishing (DIRM Sud-Atlantique).

02

Which species can you find in La Rochelle?

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

Sea bass, hake, Dover sole, cuttlefish and squid together make up 69% of the value sold. Meagre is the port's true speciality: with 61 tonnes, La Rochelle sells 13% of the national total, behind Royan, Oléron and Les Sables-d'Olonne. The prices of sea bass (€15.41/kg) and Dover sole (€18.61/kg) are close to the national averages (€15.50 and €19.25/kg in 2024); the fish auction's high average price therefore comes from what it sells, not from prices higher than elsewhere.

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. It gives the national rhythm, not that of La Rochelle alone.

Price often moves against volumes. In 2024, the national average price of sea bass ranged from about €10/kg in January, at the height of landings, to more than €22/kg in August. Hake was worth a little over €3/kg in March and €6/kg in September; Dover sole, about €16.50/kg in March and more than €23/kg in September. Meagre arrives in spring: around €10/kg in June, more than €15/kg in July and August, then about €6.30/kg in October, its second landing peak.

Winter also includes the closure of the Bay of Biscay for the protection of small cetaceans: in 2024, from 22 January to 20 February, for vessels over 8 metres using six gears deemed at risk, including some trawls and nets (Ministry of the Sea). It affects some of the gillnetters, which make up a third of the fish auction's volumes.

04

How does the sale work?

• Auctions reserved for buyers declared to 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). The sale time is not published: check with the fish auction or your fish merchant.
• A port managed by a joint authority. Since 1 January 2019, the port of Chef de Baie has been managed by the joint authority (syndicat mixte) Port Chef de Baie à La Rochelle, which brings together the La Rochelle urban community and the Charente-Maritime department (BANATIC).
• A fishing port west of the town. The fish auction and the fishing boats are at the port of Chef de Baie.

05

The fish merchants of La Rochelle

Around the port of Chef de Baie, fish merchanting (mareyage) companies buy at the auction hall, sort, prepare and ship. On the same coast, Oléron, Royan and Les Sables-d'Olonne sell the same leading species (sea bass, Dover sole, cuttlefish, meagre): compare size grades and prices from one port to another.

Most fish merchants send a price list to their customers, with the day's species, size grades and prices. The price list guide explains how to read it, and the size grades guide gives the European scale for sea bass, hake and Dover sole.

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

06

How to get fish delivered from La Rochelle?

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.