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Brill:professional buying guide, season, size grades, a substitute for turbot

Brill for the trade: March to May season, French fish auctions (Roscoff first), size grades, how it differs from turbot, yield, auction prices, substitutes.

Updated 7 min readLiveCriée editorial team

Contents
  1. Buying sheet
  2. When to buy brill?
  3. Brill or turbot: how to tell them apart?
  4. Which size grade of brill to choose?
  5. How to judge the freshness of a brill?
  6. What to replace brill with, and what does it replace?
  7. What makes the price of brill move?
  8. Frequently asked questions

Brill (Scophthalmus rhombus) is a large flatfish of the turbot family, with both eyes on the left side, covered in small smooth scales and without bony tubercles; caught in the North-East Atlantic, the English Channel and the Mediterranean, it sells at French fish auctions for about a third less than turbot, of which it is the most direct substitute. In France, its trade name is "barbue".

Buying sheet

Brill
Scientific nameScophthalmus rhombus
Peak seasonMarch to May: in 2024, these three months made up more than 40% of auction sales. Low in November and December
Closed seasonNo closure. Total allowable catch in the English Channel (ICES divisions 7d and 7e) and, jointly with turbot, in the North Sea (EU regulation 2026/249)
Minimum size30 cm for French vessels in the North-East Atlantic, English Channel and North Sea (French order of 28 January 2013). No EU size outside the Baltic
Size grades on price lists (examples of trade practice, not a standard)300 to 500 g, 500 g to 1 kg, 1 to 2 kg, 2 to 3 kg, 3 to 4 kg, 4 to 5 kg; mentions "côtier" (inshore) or "petit bateau" (small boat) on some batches. No EU marketing size grade
Main French fish auctions (2024)319 t sold at auction. Roscoff 28%, Saint-Quay-Portrieux 9%, Erquy 6%, Brest 6%, Saint-Guénolé 5%, Le Grau-du-Roi 5%
OriginsNorth-East Atlantic (FAO area 27: English Channel, Celtic Sea, North Sea, Bay of Biscay) and Mediterranean (FAO area 37)
Fishing methodsMostly bottom trawl (FAO); part of the landings comes from inshore vessels
Yield50% as fillets (750 g brill); 60% as bone-in steaks (2 to 3 kg); 35% as trimmed suprêmes (3 to 4 kg) (Seafish)
StorageWhole, gutted, flat on melting ice (0 to 2 °C)

Minimum size: French order of 28 January 2013 and Regulation (EU) 2019/1241. Shares calculated by the editorial team from the sales declared at French fish auctions in 2024 (FranceAgriMer). These figures only cover fish sold at auction, not fish sold by private agreement.

  • 319 tof brill sold at French fish auctions in 2024
  • 28%of these sales at Roscoff
  • 50%fillets for a 750 g brill

Source: FranceAgriMer, sales declared at fish auctions 2024; Seafish (yield).

When to buy brill?

In spring. In 2024, French fish auctions sold 48 tonnes of brill in March, 44 in April and 41 in May, against 13 in November and 12 in December. In winter, it becomes scarce just when holiday demand is at its strongest. Summer and early autumn remain average months, at around 20 to 25 tonnes a month.

SpeciesJFMAMJJASOND
Brillavailableavailablepeak landingspeak landingspeak landingsavailableavailableavailableavailableavailablelow landingslow landings

●● high landings; ● present; ○ low. National rhythm of auction sales (FranceAgriMer, 2024); it varies from one port to another.

Brill or turbot: how to tell them apart?

  • By touch. Turbot carries many pointed bony tubercles on its dark side; brill has none, its dark side is covered in small smooth scales (FAO).
  • By the label. The trade name and the scientific name must appear on the label: Scophthalmus rhombus for brill, Scophthalmus maximus (or Psetta maxima) for turbot.
  • By the price. In 2024, brill sold at French fish auctions for about €16.30/kg on average, turbot for about €24.30/kg. A brill at the price of turbot should prompt a check of the species.
  • In the kitchen. Yields are close (50% as fillets for both at 750 g, according to Seafish): brill replaces turbot as fillets, steaks and tronçons, not as an equivalent to be invoiced at the same price.

Which size grade of brill to choose?

Cut servedRecommended size gradeIndicative yield
Whole brill, for one or two peopleunder 1 kgfillets: about 50%
Fillets1 to 2 kgfillets: about 50%
Bone-in steaks or tronçons2 to 3 kgsteaks: about 60%
Trimmed suprêmes, skinless and boneless3 kg and oversuprêmes: about 35%

Seafish yields, to be measured on your own deliveries.

As with turbot, the head and frame weigh heavily: they make a fish stock to be counted in the recipe costing sheet.

How to judge the freshness of a brill?

Shiny dark side, covered in clear slime; pearly white side, with no redness or bruising; bright red gills; bulging eye; stiff body and thick flesh that springs back under the finger; a smell of the sea. A yellowed white side or a thick, dull slime signals a tired fish.

What to replace brill with, and what does it replace?

UseSubstituteNote
Premium dish instead of turbotBrillsame fillet yield, about a third cheaper at auction in 2024
Brill unavailable, thick filletsTurbot, small turbot (turbotin)more expensive, especially in winter
Thin fillets, flatfishLarge Dover sole, megrimmegrim is cheaper, with softer flesh
Fillets, pearly cookingJohn Dorylower yield (about 38% as fillets, Seafish), comparable average auction price in 2024 (about €15.80/kg)

What makes the price of brill move?

Average first-sale price at auction, France, 2024Brill
Yearly average priceabout €16.30/kg (319 t)
Cheapest monthMay: about €14.60/kg
Most expensive monthDecember: about €22.10/kg
Spread between auctions (auctions handling about 5% of volumes or more)from about €14.90/kg (Saint-Quay-Portrieux) to about €22.40/kg (Le Grau-du-Roi)

Year 2024, average first-sale prices at auction, whole of France (FranceAgriMer, sales declared at fish auctions). The auction price is not the price paid to the fish merchant: processing, transport and margin are added to it.

The time to buy is spring: from March to May 2024, with 41 to 48 tonnes sold a month, the average price stayed between €14.60 and €15.70/kg. It rises when landings fall: about €19.80/kg in August (19 tonnes), then about €22.10/kg in December (12 tonnes), when the holidays add to the scarcity; November, just as poorly supplied (13 tonnes), stayed at about €16.60/kg. 2025 confirms the same seasonality, with March the cheapest and December the most expensive.

The spread between auctions says above all where the fish comes from. The four large fish auctions of northern Brittany (Roscoff, Saint-Quay-Portrieux, Erquy, Brest), which handle nearly half of the volumes, sold at between about €14.90 and €15.20/kg, below the national average. Mediterranean brill, sold at Le Grau-du-Roi in small quantities (15 tonnes), exceeded €22/kg: size, condition and local outlets may explain part of the spread, without it being possible to make a rule of it.

  • The season: prices at their lowest in spring, at their highest in December.
  • The size: large fish, which yield steaks, cost more per kilo.
  • Turbot: brill partly follows its market, since it replaces it; the average gap at auction was about €8/kg in 2024.
  • The holidays: year-end demand falls at the time of the lowest landings.
  • The weather: with 12 to 48 tonnes a month for the whole of France, a few days without boats going out are enough to empty the supply.

Frequently asked questions

When is brill in season?

Brill is caught all year round, but auction landings are highest from March to May: in 2024, these three months made up more than 40% of sales. It is scarce in November and December, and its price is then at its highest.

What is the difference between brill and turbot?

They are two closely related species of the same family. Turbot carries bony tubercles on its dark side; brill has none and carries small smooth scales. Their fillet yields are comparable, but brill costs less: about €16.30/kg on average at auction in 2024, against about €24.30/kg for turbot.

What is the yield of brill?

According to Seafish: about 50% as fillets for a 750 g brill, 60% as bone-in steaks for a 2 to 3 kg brill, and 35% as trimmed suprêmes for a 3 to 4 kg brill.

What is the minimum size of brill?

30 cm for French vessels in the North-East Atlantic, the English Channel and the North Sea (French order of 28 January 2013). EU law only sets a minimum size in the Baltic Sea, also 30 cm.

Where is the brill sold in France caught?

First in northern Brittany: Roscoff alone accounts for more than a quarter of national auction sales, ahead of Saint-Quay-Portrieux, Erquy and Brest. A small share comes from the Mediterranean, sold at Le Grau-du-Roi.

Sources

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