Le Guilvinec fish auction:species, seasons and how to get fish delivered

01

The Le Guilvinec fish auction in figures

Source: FranceAgriMer, sales declared at fish auctions in 2024.

The port is presented as the leading small-scale fishing port in France and the third fishing port for all fisheries combined, behind Boulogne-sur-Mer and Lorient. Its fleet has about a hundred vessels and boats: offshore trawlers of 20 to 24 metres, which land nearly 80% of the volumes, and inshore trawlers that come back every day.

Landings have fallen sharply in ten years: 18,153 tonnes sold in 2015, 9,199 in 2024. For the buyer, this means tighter supply on some species, and rising average prices.

02

Which species can you find in Le Guilvinec?

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

Monkfish alone accounts for more than a third of the value sold in Le Guilvinec. Langoustine, the emblem of the port, represents 13%. On the offshore side, you mostly find monkfish, haddock, megrim, cod, ray, pollack and John Dory; on the inshore side, langoustine, monkfish, sea bass and hake.

03

When to buy what? The calendar of the leading species

Volumes are not the same all year round. The calendar below marks the months of high landings, read from the monthly sales of all French fish auctions in 2024.

What the calendar does not show is the price. For langoustine, it moves against volumes: in 2024, the national average price was around €10 to €12/kg in spring, at the height of landings, then around €19/kg from August to November and €22/kg in December. The same movement for sea bass, cheaper in winter when it is plentiful, more expensive in summer. Buying in season often means buying cheaper.

04

How does the sale work?

From Monday to Friday, the fish auction holds two sales a day:

• At 5:30 am, the offshore sale: fish from trawlers that have spent several days at sea.
• At 3:30 pm, the inshore sale: the day's catch of the inshore trawlers.

The hall is automated: since 2022, a weighing and sales line identifies the boxes by chip. Buyers can bid on site or remotely. Bidding remains reserved for buyers declared to the auction (Article D932-9 of the French rural code).

Since 1 January 2026, the fish auction has been operated by the Société des pêches de Cornouaille, which took over the role of the CCI Finistère; the port authority is the Syndicat mixte des ports de pêche-plaisance de Cornouaille.

05

The fish merchants of the Pays Bigouden

Around the port of Guilvinec-Léchiagat, where 7 fish merchants (mareyeurs) are based on site (Société des pêches de Cornouaille), and in the neighbouring towns, fish merchanting companies buy in the auction hall, prepare the fish in their approved workshops and ship it. The Pays Bigouden has two other fish auctions, Saint-Guénolé and Loctudy, which gives local fish merchants access to several sales within a few kilometres.

The trade of these firms: choosing lots in the auction hall, sorting, grading, gutting or filleting, icing, packing and shipping. Most 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.

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

06

How to get fish delivered from Le Guilvinec?

For an importer, the pattern is the same up to departure: the fish merchant prepares, and the freight forwarder or the carrier takes over to the airport. A page dedicated to export is planned in our English section.