Le Grau-du-Roi fish auction:the leading Mediterranean fish auction, its species, its seasons and how to get fish delivered

01

The Le Grau-du-Roi fish auction in figures

Source: FranceAgriMer, sales declared at fish auctions in 2024; ranks and shares calculated by the editorial team.

Over ten years, the fish auction has held its volumes (2,315 tonnes in 2015, 2,319 in 2024), while most of the large Atlantic fish auctions declined. 2024 was nonetheless more difficult: 12% less volume, and octopus sharply down (218 tonnes against 385 in 2023).

The fleet, for its part, has shrunk. The port had 16 trawlers in 2024, according to the town; the local press speaks of about thirty before. The context is the European management plan for demersal fisheries in the western Mediterranean (Regulation (EU) 2019/1022): since 2020, it has regulated the fishing effort of trawlers, and trawling is banned within 6 miles of the coast three months a year, except beyond a depth of 100 metres.

02

Which species can you find in Le Grau-du-Roi?

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

Octopus remains the leading species by value despite its bad year, with 14% of sales. No species dominates: this is the mark of Mediterranean trawling, which lands an assortment of fish, cephalopods and bottom shellfish in small quantities every day.

Prices are not those of the Atlantic. In 2024, Dover sole sold at an average of €26.32/kg in Le Grau-du-Roi, against €19.27/kg across all fish auctions; hake at €6.53/kg against €4.40/kg. Gilthead sea bream, on the other hand, is cheaper there than elsewhere (€8.16/kg against €12.02/kg), because it is sold mainly in autumn, at the peak of landings. Our Sète page compares these gaps species by species.

03

The Mediterranean fish auctions side by side

Source: FranceAgriMer, 2024 data; editorial team's calculations.

Only four fish auctions, all in Occitanie, for barely more than 4% of the volumes sold at auction in France. Le Grau-du-Roi and Sète together account for nearly two thirds of them. For a buyer in Montpellier, Nîmes or Marseille, it is the nearest fresh supply; for Atlantic volumes and species, you have to look further afield.

04

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. For gilthead sea bream and other octopus, the Mediterranean fish auctions weigh heavily enough for the national curve to reflect their rhythm; for octopus, hake, monkfish and Atlantic bluefin tuna, it mainly reflects the Atlantic and remains indicative.

Autumn is the great season in Le Grau-du-Roi: gilthead sea bream and octopus peak there in September and October. It is also the time of the best prices for the buyer. In 2024, the national average price of gilthead sea bream was around €16 to €17/kg from May to August and fell to around €9/kg in October; that of octopus went from about €10/kg in August, when it is scarce, to about €7/kg in October and November.

05

How does the sale work?

• Day fishing. The swing bridge opens every morning around 3 am to let the trawlers out, and they return around 5 pm (town of Le Grau-du-Roi).
• A sale at the end of the day. The fish is sold at the fish auction when the boats return. No sale time is published: check with the fish auction or your fish merchant.
• Auctions reserved for buyers declared to the manager of the auction hall (Article D932-9 of the French rural code).
• Next to the fish auction, small-scale fishers ("petits métiers") sell their catch on the quays, every morning of the year (town of Le Grau-du-Roi).

The return of the trawlers, every late afternoon, is also a show for visitors to the port; the sale room, however, is reserved for professionals.

06

The fish merchants of the Petite Camargue

Around the port, fish merchanting (mareyage) companies buy at the auction hall at the end of the day, sort, prepare and ship. As landings are varied but modest, a Le Grau-du-Roi fish merchant may complete their offer from other Mediterranean or Atlantic fish auctions: the price list must then clearly state the origin and catch area of each line. The price list guide explains how to read it.

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

07

How to get fish delivered from Le Grau-du-Roi?

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.