Port-en-Bessin fish auction:king scallop, seasons and how to get fish delivered

01

The Port-en-Bessin fish auction in figures

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

Port-en-Bessin is one of the few large fish auctions whose landings have increased over ten years: 7,603 tonnes in 2015, 9,419 in 2024, while most Breton and Atlantic fish auctions were declining. The average price, on the other hand, is low (€2.76/kg, at the level of Boulogne-sur-Mer): it is a fish auction for shellfish, cephalopods and trawl fish.

Trawlers dominate: those that FranceAgriMer classifies as "non-exclusive" brought in 59% of the volumes and 60% of the value in 2024, exclusive trawlers 23%, demersal seiners 8% (editorial team's calculation from FranceAgriMer data). The port has about sixty fishing vessels from 6 to 24 metres: trawlers, whelk boats, dredgers, line fishers and gillnetters (Ports du Calvados). Part of the inshore fleet changes trade with the seasons: bottom trawl, pots and nets in spring and summer, scallop dredge in autumn and winter (Bayeux Intercom). For the buyer, this means a port that changes face: king scallop in winter, squid from autumn to early winter, cuttlefish, mackerel and groundfish the rest of the year.

02

Which species can you find in Port-en-Bessin?

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

King scallop accounts for nearly a third of the value sold (32% in 2024, 39% in 2023). Squid has grown: 870 tonnes in 2024 against 319 in 2023, which puts Port-en-Bessin just behind Boulogne for this species. At the other end of the range, the fish auction is the leading one in France for several low-priced fish (thornback ray, black sea bream, smooth-hound, pouting), useful for a canteen, brasserie or neighbourhood fishmonger's menu.

King scallop and its Label Rouge. King scallops in the shell and scallop meat from inshore fishing can carry the Label Rouge (specification LA 11/02): a shell of at least 11 cm, landed alive and sold at the fish auction shortly afterwards. The Label Rouge is checked on the product label and on the supplier's certificate; our labels and claims guide explains how.

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. For king scallop, it reflects the common rule: fishery closed from 15 May to 30 September inclusive (order of 12 May 2003), with the opening then set bed by bed. In 2026, the offshore Eastern Channel zone opened on 1 October (order No 171/2026 of the Prefect of the Normandy region). The Baie de Seine, off Port-en-Bessin, opens on a date set each year by order: the 2025-2026 season there had started on 3 November 2025 (CRPMEM Normandie).

The price often moves against volumes. For king scallop, the national average price slipped from about €2.40/kg in January to €2/kg in May 2024, then climbed back towards €3/kg in December, with the holidays. For mackerel, it was around €1.70/kg in September and October, at the height of landings, and exceeded €3/kg in November and December. Black sea bream was worth around €3/kg in February, when it is plentiful, and more than €5/kg from April to July.

04

How does the sale work?

• Bidding reserved for declared buyers with the auction hall operator (Article D932-9 of the French rural code). The sale time is not published: check with the fish auction or your fish merchant.
• A sister fish auction at Grandcamp-Maisy, about twenty kilometres away; it sold 1,429 tonnes in 2024, 91% of the value of which was king scallop.
• A common operator. Since 1 January 2023, the management and operation of the seven departmental ports of Calvados, including Port-en-Bessin and Grandcamp-Maisy, have been entrusted to the company Ports du Calvados, which brings together the Département, the Banque des Territoires, the CCI Caen Normandie and the Copéport cooperative.

05

The fish merchants of the Bessin

Around the port, fish merchanting (mareyage) companies buy in the hall, sort, grade, shell or pack and ship. In the scallop season, the work is split between whole scallops in the shell, sold alive by weight, and scallop meat, with or without roe. The two are not compared at the same price: always ask what the line on the price list 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 Port-en-Bessin?

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.