Meagre:professional buying guide, season, size grades, wild or farmed

01

Buying sheet

National rhythm of auction sales (FranceAgriMer, 2024); it varies from one port to another. Shares calculated by the editorial team from the sales declared at French fish auctions in 2024 (FranceAgriMer). Minimum size and mesh: French order of 28 January 2013 as amended by the order of 23 August 2022.

02

When to buy wild meagre?

From late spring to autumn. In 2024, auction sales peaked in June (nearly 100 tonnes) and in October (over 80 tonnes), against almost nothing from January to March. Volumes vary a lot from one year to the next: 601 tonnes in 2023, 450 tonnes in 2024, and so does the calendar. In 2023, Saint-Jean-de-Luz sold 142 tonnes of meagre, against 18 tonnes in 2024.

Meagre spawns notably in the Gironde estuary: two spawning areas there are temporarily closed to fishing during its spawning period (prefectoral order of 3 April 2023, cited by the Conseil d'État).

Out of season, farmed fish take over, in smaller and regular sizes.

03

Wild or farmed: how not to get it wrong?

• The label decides: "caught" or "farmed" is mandatory, with the area and the gear or the country of farming.
• Size is a clue: wild meagre from the auction is most often a large fish of several kilos; a regular 500 g portion fish all year round is almost always farmed.

04

How to prepare it?

Wild meagre is often sold as large fish, to be cut: it is a fish for thick portions, with firm flesh that holds well when cooked, and few bones. The head and frame make an excellent fish stock. For regular cutting, a fish of 5 to 10 kg gives thicker portions and a better yield than a small fish, as with turbot or sea bass (see the food cost guide).

05

How to judge the freshness of a meagre?

Silvery skin with bronze glints, shiny; bulging, clear eye; bright red gills; scales firmly attached; stiff, firm body. On a large fish bought whole, check the flesh at the belly, the first area to deteriorate. As portions, the flesh must be white, pearly, with no liquid.

06

What to replace meagre with?

07

What makes the price of meagre move?

Year 2024, all French fish auctions: average first-sale price at the auction hall (FranceAgriMer, sales declared at fish auctions, workbook published on 2 July 2026). January and February 2024 are not published (less than 2 t sold). Spread between auctions: among those handling at least 5% of meagre volumes. Caught meagre only: farmed meagre does not go through the auction. The auction price is not the price paid to the fish merchant: processing, transport and margin are added to it.

In June 2024, the auctions sold 94 t of meagre at about €10.20/kg; in July and August, landings fell back to 47 t a month and the price rose to around €15/kg, at the height of summer demand. In October, sales climbed back to 83 t and the price fell to its lowest of the year. The link is not mechanical: in November and December, with 30 to 34 t a month, the price stayed moderate, between €8.40 and €8.80/kg. Royan, the leading meagre auction, is also the most expensive; the workbook does not give the reason (size of the fish, local outlets): compare at equal size grade.

• The season: in 2024, almost no wild meagre at auction from January to March.
• The size: large wild fish and farmed portion fish are not comparable.
• The production method: wild sells above farmed.
• Charente landings: with nearly 70% of sales between Royan, Oléron and La Rochelle, a few days of bad weather empty the supply.
• Summer demand from restaurants on the Atlantic coast: in 2024, July and August were the two most expensive months.