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Species

French seafood species:buying guides for importers

Sea bass, sole, king scallop, langoustine… For each species: season, size grades, French fish auctions, fishing methods and substitutes.

Updated 5 min readLiveCriée editorial team

Contents
  1. Fish
  2. Shellfish
  3. Crustaceans
  4. Cephalopods

One page per species, written for professional buyers: when to buy it, in which size grades, from which French fish auctions, and what to switch to when it is short. 44 species of fish, shellfish, crustaceans and cephalopods.

In season this month: French seafood in season in October.

Fish

  • Albacore (germon) : Albacore for the trade: season from July to October, Le Guilvinec and Saint-Jean-de-Luz first, line or trawl, freshness, histamine and substitutes.
  • Atlantic bluefin tuna : Bluefin tuna for the trade: ICCAT quotas, season from July to October, fish auctions, line, pole or seine, eBCD catch document, freshness and pitfalls.
  • Black sea bream : Black sea bream (griset) for the trade: late-winter season, Channel fish auctions, size grades, gilthead sea bream, pandora and red porgy, auction prices.
  • Brill : Brill for the trade: March to May season, French fish auctions (Roscoff first), size grades, how it differs from turbot, yield, auction prices, substitutes.
  • Cod : Cod for the trade: cabillaud or morue, EU size grades, origins (Iceland, Norway), loin and fillet, yield, substitutes and Rungis wholesale prices.
  • Dab : Dab (limande) for the trade: EU size grades, size, fishing areas, difference from lemon sole, freshness, yield, price and substitutes.
  • Dover sole : Dover sole for the trade: season, EU size grades 1 to 5, French fish auctions, net or trawl, freshness, yield and substitutes (wedge sole, lemon sole).
  • Fresh anchovy : Fresh anchovy for the trade: auction season, 12 cm minimum size, EU size grades, Bay of Biscay or Mediterranean, histamine and auction prices.
  • Gilthead sea bream : Gilthead sea bream for the trade: wild season (autumn), size grades, Mediterranean fish auctions, wild or farmed, yield and substitutes.
  • Hake : European hake for the trade: season, EU size grades 1 to 5, French fish auctions (Saint-Jean-de-Luz first), line-caught hake, freshness, yield, substitutes.
  • Herring : Herring for the trade: a winter fish of the eastern Channel, Boulogne-sur-Mer, EU size grades, fresh or smoked, raw herring and anisakis, substitutes.
  • Horse mackerel : Horse mackerel for the trade: April to August season, EU size grades 1 to 5, fish auctions (Boulogne, Mediterranean), freshness, yield and auction prices.
  • John Dory : John Dory for the trade: season, size grades, Côtes-d'Armor fish auctions, freshness, 35% fillet yield, pitfalls and substitutes.
  • Ling : Ling for the trade: "julienne" in French, season from March to September, Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Lorient, blue ling, EU size grades, uses and substitutes.
  • Mackerel : Mackerel for the trade: two seasons, EU size grades, Boulogne leading the French fish auctions, line or trawl, freshness, histamine, raw use and yield.
  • Meagre : Meagre for the trade: season from May to October, Royan and the Charente straits, large wild fish or farmed portions, loins, substitutes.
  • Megrim : Megrim for the trade: available all year, EU size grades, Le Guilvinec and Cornouaille fish auctions, freshness, uses, yield and substitutes.
  • Monkfish : Monkfish (baudroie) for the trade: EU size grades for tails, French fish auctions (Le Guilvinec first), freshness, yield, pitfalls and substitutes.
  • Pollack : Pollack for the trade: season, EU size grades, Audierne and southern Brittany, line-caught pollack, difference from saithe, freshness and substitutes.
  • Red mullet : Red mullet for the trade: two seasons, Boulogne and Les Sables in the lead, rouget de roche or de vase, gurnard not to be confused, freshness, fillet yield.
  • Saithe : Saithe for the trade: season from March to July, EU size grades, Boulogne and Lorient, offshore trawl, fillet yield, the word colin, and substitutes.
  • Salmon : Atlantic salmon for the trade: farming, origins (Norway, Scotland), Label Rouge, size grades, freshness, yield, raw use and wholesale prices at Rungis.
  • Sardine : Sardine for the trade: season July to October, count per kilo (moule), purse seine or pelagic trawl, fish auctions, fat, Label Rouge and auction prices.
  • Sea bass : European sea bass for the trade: season, price-list size grades, French fish auctions, line or trawl, wild or farmed, fillet yield and substitutes.
  • Sea urchin : Sea urchin for the trade: short winter season in Provence, minimum sizes, health label, checking a live lot, origins and prices.
  • Skate and ray : Skate and ray for the trade: thornback, cuckoo, blonde, undulate, spotted; skinned or skin-on wings, quotas, banned species, season and auction prices.
  • Spider crab : Spider crab for the trade: March to June season, 12 cm minimum size, Breton and Normandy fish auctions, full or empty, live storage and auction prices.
  • Swordfish : Swordfish for the trade: mostly imported (Chile, Sri Lanka, Spain), ICCAT quotas, minimum sizes, fresh or frozen, mercury, raw service and price.
  • Turbot : Turbot for the trade: season, usual size grades, French fish auctions (Roscoff first), wild or farmed, fillet and steak yield, substitutes.
  • Whiting : Whiting for the trade: winter peak, EU size grades, Boulogne and Cherbourg in the lead, line-caught whiting, freshness, fillet yield and substitutes.

Shellfish

  • Carpet shell clam : Carpet shell clams for the trade: grooved or Manila clam, minimum sizes, Arcachon and the Gulf of Morbihan, health classification of areas, sizes, substitutes.
  • King scallop : King scallops for the trade: October to May season, French fish auctions, minimum size, roe-on or roe-off, imported scallop meat, yield, substitutes.
  • Mussel : Mussels for the trade: bouchot season from July to winter, bouchot, rope-grown or Spanish, PDO and TSG, health label, flesh content and substitutes.
  • Pacific oyster : Pacific oyster for the trade: sizes No. 0 to 5, fine, spéciale, de claire, growing areas, triploid, health label, storage and pitfalls.
  • Warty venus clam : Warty venus clam for the trade: season September to April, December peak, absent in summer, 40 mm size, Granville and Erquy, health label, substitutes.
  • Whelk : Whelk for the trade: season from March to July, 45 mm minimum size, Granville and Normandy, PGI, live or cooked, freshness and substitutes.

Crustaceans

  • Brown crab : Brown crab for the trade: May to September season, 15 cm minimum size, size grades, male or female, full or empty, live or cooked, auction prices.
  • European lobster : European lobster for the trade: May to July season, minimum size, price-list size grades, Breton fish auctions, European or American lobster, holding tanks.
  • Langoustine : Langoustine for the trade: season from April to July, size grades in pieces per kilo, Breton fish auctions, live or chilled, sulphites, substitutes.
  • Prawns and shrimp : Prawns and shrimp for the trade: brown shrimp, common prawn or farmed tropical shrimp, season, auctions, defrosted labelling, size grades, yield, prices.
  • Spiny lobster : Spiny lobster for the trade: red spiny lobster from Brittany and Corsica, closures, minimum size, tag, fish auctions, imported species, prices.

Cephalopods

  • Cuttlefish : Cuttlefish for the trade: October peak, summer low, EU size categories, Channel and Atlantic fish auctions, pot or trawl, ink, yield and substitutes.
  • Octopus : Octopus for the trade: autumn peak, 750 g minimum weight, Breton boom since 2021, octopus or eledone, freshness, cooking, yield and substitutes.
  • Squid : Squid (encornet) for the trade: season from September to January, Boulogne and the Channel first, French names, freshness, cleaned yield and substitutes.

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