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Saithe:professional buying guide, season, size grades, colin or lieu

Saithe for the trade: season from March to July, EU size grades, Boulogne and Lorient, offshore trawl, fillet yield, the word colin, and substitutes.

Updated 5 min readLiveCriée editorial team

Contents
  1. Buying sheet
  2. When to buy saithe?
  3. "Colin", "lieu", "lieu noir": what are we talking about?
  4. How to judge the freshness of a saithe?
  5. What to replace saithe with?
  6. What makes the price of saithe move?
  7. Frequently asked questions

Saithe (lieu noir, Pollachius virens) is an offshore round fish of the cod family, a cold-water species of the North-East Atlantic caught mostly by trawl from offshore vessels, and landed in France at Boulogne-sur-Mer and Lorient; its greyish flesh, which turns white when cooked, makes it one of the most affordable white fish for catering. Boulogne-sur-Mer alone sells more than three quarters of the saithe sold at auction in France.

Buying sheet

Saithe
Scientific namePollachius virens
Peak seasonMarch to July, peak in July. Almost absent from the auctions in November and December 2024
Closed seasonNo closure; fished under quotas
Minimum size35 cm
EU size grades1: 5 kg and over; 2: 3 to 5 kg; 3: 1.5 to 3 kg; 4: 300 g to 1.5 kg
Examples of size grades on price listsWhole 1/3 kg, 3/5 kg, 5 kg+; fillet skin-on or skinless, loin (common practice, not a standard)
Main French fish auctions (2024)3,492 t sold at auction. Boulogne-sur-Mer 77%, Lorient 20%, Saint-Jean-de-Luz 3%
OriginsFAO area 27 (North-East Atlantic), from Greenland and Norway to the Bay of Biscay, where it is uncommon (Ifremer); a large share is imported
Fishing methodsBottom trawl and pelagic trawl, offshore vessels
Yield50% as skin-on fillets for a 680 g saithe (Seafish); 34% as skinless fillets (FAO)
StorageWhole and gutted or as fillets, on ice (0 to 2 °C)

Size grades: Regulation (EC) No 2406/96, Annex II. Minimum size: Regulation (EU) 2019/1241. Shares calculated by the editorial team from the sales declared at French fish auctions in 2024 (FranceAgriMer). National rhythm of auction sales (FranceAgriMer, 2024); it varies from one port to another.

When to buy saithe?

In spring and summer. In 2024, the auctions sold between 380 and 535 tonnes a month from March to July, then landings melted away: about a hundred tonnes in October, almost nothing in November and December. The average price, lowest in summer, rose by more than three quarters by December. For a menu dish or an institutional catering menu planned over the year, it is better to secure saithe before autumn, or to plan a substitute.

Over ten years, auction sales fell from 5,997 tonnes in 2015 to 3,492 tonnes in 2024.

"Colin", "lieu", "lieu noir": what are we talking about?

"Colin" is a trap word. It is a name for hake, but Ifremer also records it as a regional name for pollack in Boulogne and Normandy, and it is found in the trade for other white fish. The word "lieu" alone can mean pollack (lieu jaune), which is much more expensive, as well as saithe. Only the scientific name on the label decides: Pollachius virens for saithe, Pollachius pollachius for pollack, Merluccius merluccius for hake.

Saithe is also among the main seafood species imported into France by value (French customs, 2024): on a price list, the origin matters as much as the name.

How to judge the freshness of a saithe?

Bulging, shiny eye; bright red gills; charcoal grey back and silvery belly, both shiny; light, straight lateral line; stiff body. The raw flesh is naturally greyish: this is not a defect. It must be firm, with no liquid at the bottom of the box, and a clean sea smell.

What to replace saithe with?

UseSubstituteNote
Fillet, loin, oven-bakedCod, haddockwhiter flesh, more expensive
Dish of the day, brandade, fish parmentierLing, whitingcomparable prices
Thick loin, roastedHake, pollackfiner, more expensive

What makes the price of saithe move?

Average first-sale price at auction, France, 2024Saithe
Yearly averageabout €1.90/kg
Cheapest monthAugust: about €1.50/kg
Most expensive monthDecember: about €2.70/kg (on only 6 t)
Spread between auctionsfrom €1.80/kg (Boulogne-sur-Mer) to €2.00/kg (Lorient)

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). Spread between auctions: among those handling at least 5% of saithe volumes. The auction price is not the price paid to the fish merchant: processing, transport and margin are added to it, and weigh heavily on a fish sold at under €2/kg at auction.

Saithe is cheapest in high summer: about €1.60/kg in July, when the auctions sold 535 t of it, and about €1.50/kg in August; 2025 shows the same summer low. The price rises again as landings fade: about €2.15/kg in October (99 t), €2.25/kg in November (55 t), €2.70/kg in December, but on only 6 t, a month too thin to serve as a benchmark. Between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Lorient, which together account for nearly 97% of sales, the average gap is only about €0.20/kg.

  • The season: massive landings from March to July, almost nothing at year-end, hence a price at its highest in December.
  • Quotas: most of the resource is shared between the European Union, Norway and the United Kingdom; a quota cut shows in the year's supply.
  • The size: large fish are cut into thick loins, which are more sought after.
  • The presentation: whole, skin-on fillet, skinless fillet, loin; compare per kilo of usable flesh.
  • Offshore trawlers' trips: a few landings make up most of a week's supply at Boulogne-sur-Mer.

Frequently asked questions

When is saithe in season?

From March to July, with a peak in July in 2024. Landings fall from August and become very low in November and December.

Are saithe and "colin" the same fish?

Not necessarily. "Colin" is a name for hake, and the word is also used, depending on the region and the supplier, for other white fish. Check the scientific name: Pollachius virens for saithe, Merluccius merluccius for hake.

What is the fillet yield of saithe?

About 50% of the whole weight as skin-on fillets for a 680 g saithe (Seafish), 34% as skinless fillets according to the FAO. The yield increases with size.

Why is saithe flesh grey?

It is its natural colour when raw. It turns white when cooked. Grey, firm flesh with no smell is normal; soft flesh, or flesh that releases water, is not.

What is the price of saithe?

In 2024, about €1.90/kg on average at first sale in French fish auctions, from about €1.50/kg in August to about €2.70/kg in December, on very low volumes (FranceAgriMer). This is a first-sale price: the price paid to the fish merchant adds processing, transport and margin, and a fillet is compared per kilo of usable flesh.

Sources

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