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Whiting:professional buying guide, season, size grades, line or trawl

Whiting for the trade: winter peak, EU size grades, Boulogne and Cherbourg in the lead, line-caught whiting, freshness, fillet yield and substitutes.

Updated 5 min readLiveCriée editorial team

Contents
  1. Buying sheet
  2. When to buy whiting?
  3. Why does the same whiting cost so much in one port and so little in another?
  4. How to judge the freshness of a whiting?
  5. What to replace whiting with?
  6. What makes the price of whiting move?
  7. Frequently asked questions

Whiting (Merlangius merlangus) is a round fish of the cod family, with white, delicate and fragile flesh, caught by trawl, net and line in the English Channel, the North Sea and the Celtic Sea; it is an affordable dish-of-the-day fish, whose quality depends mainly on freshness and fishing method. Its auction landings have fallen threefold in ten years: 9,755 tonnes in 2015, 3,260 tonnes in 2024 (FranceAgriMer).

Buying sheet

Whiting
Scientific nameMerlangius merlangus
Peak seasonJanuary to March, peak in February. Low in November and December
Closed seasonNo closure; fishing under quotas
Minimum size27 cm
EU size grades1: 500 g and over; 2: 350 to 500 g; 3: 250 to 350 g; 4: 110 to 250 g
Examples of size grades on price lists200/300 g, 300/500 g, 500 g+ (common practice, not a standard)
Main French fish auctions (2024)3,260 t sold at auction. Boulogne-sur-Mer 35%, Cherbourg 17%, Saint-Quay-Portrieux 9%, Roscoff 8%, Erquy 5%, Port-en-Bessin 4%, Brest 3%
OriginsFAO area 27: eastern and western English Channel, North Sea, Celtic Sea
Fishing methodsMainly bottom trawl; net; line and longline
Yield40% as skin-on fillets for a 950 g whiting, filleted and pin-boned (Seafish); 32% as skinless fillets (FAO)
StorageWhole and gutted, on melting ice (0 to 2 °C); to be prepared quickly

National rhythm of auction sales (FranceAgriMer, 2024); it varies from one port to another. 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).

When to buy whiting?

In winter. In 2024, the auctions sold about 540 tonnes of whiting in February, against 155 to 215 tonnes a month from April to June and at the end of the year. The price is logically at its lowest in February, and rises again in spring and in November.

Why does the same whiting cost so much in one port and so little in another?

It is the most striking feature of the 2024 figures: the average auction price of whiting is three to five times higher at Concarneau, Lorient or Le Guilvinec than at Boulogne-sur-Mer.

Boulogne-sur-MerBreton fish auction

  • Le Guilvinec

    Boulogne-sur-Mer : €1.46/kgBreton fish auction : €5.01/kg

  • Lorient

    Boulogne-sur-Mer : €1.46/kgBreton fish auction : €5.66/kg

  • Concarneau

    Boulogne-sur-Mer : €1.46/kgBreton fish auction : €7.31/kg

Source: FranceAgriMer, sales declared at fish auctions in 2024.

The volumes are nothing alike: 1,154 tonnes sold at Boulogne-sur-Mer in 2024, less than 80 tonnes in each of the three Breton ports (FranceAgriMer). The auction figures do not say where the gap comes from; size, gear and freshness at landing are the first leads.

On a price list, a "whiting" with no size grade and no gear can therefore not be compared with anything. Ask for both.

How to judge the freshness of a whiting?

Whiting spoils quickly: it is a fish with tender flesh. Bulging, clear eye; bright red gills; silvery skin, sharp lateral line; scales in place; stiff body; intact belly, with no yellow colouring. The flesh must stay firm under the finger. A line-caught whiting can be recognised by its skin free of friction marks.

What to replace whiting with?

UseSubstituteNote
Fillet meunière, "en colère", breadedHaddock, poutingsimilar flesh, comparable prices
Baked or steamed filletPollack, hakefirmer, more expensive
Fish stock, soup, stuffingPouting, gurnarddelicate flesh, low price

What makes the price of whiting move?

Average first-sale price at auction, France, 2024Whiting
Yearly averageabout €2.60/kg
Cheapest monthFebruary: about €1.90/kg
Most expensive monthApril: about €3.60/kg
Spread between auctionsfrom €1.50/kg (Boulogne-sur-Mer) to €3.20/kg (Roscoff)

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 whiting volumes. The auction price is not the price paid to the fish merchant: processing, transport and margin are added to it.

In February 2024, the busiest month (537 t sold at auction), whiting sold at its lowest; in April, with landings almost three times smaller (192 t), it reached its highest, and it rose again to about €3.40/kg in November (156 t). December is the exception: as quiet as November, it sold at around €2.40/kg. The spread between auctions is wide: Boulogne-sur-Mer, which sells more than a third of the whiting, is by far the cheapest, and small Breton auctions sell it for even more than Roscoff (see above); the workbook does not give the reason.

  • The season: price at its lowest at the February peak.
  • The fishing method: line and small-scale inshore fishing sell well above trawl.
  • The size: large whiting, scarcer, sell for more per kilo and yield more fillet (see the food cost guide).
  • The resource: landings down threefold in ten years weigh on supply.
  • The weather in the English Channel, which sets the landings of Boulogne-sur-Mer and Cherbourg every day.

Frequently asked questions

When is whiting in season?

Whiting is most plentiful from January to March, with a peak in February. It remains available the rest of the year, but in smaller volumes, especially in November and December.

What is the price of whiting?

In 2024, about €2.60/kg on average at first sale in French fish auctions, from about €1.90/kg in February to about €3.60/kg in April (FranceAgriMer), with very large gaps from one auction to another. The price paid to the fish merchant adds processing, transport and margin.

What is the fillet yield of whiting?

About 40% of the whole weight as skin-on fillets for a 950 g whiting, filleted and pin-boned (Seafish), and 32% as skinless fillets according to the FAO. For 150 g of fillet per plate, you need to buy about 375 g of whole whiting.

What is line-caught whiting?

A whiting caught on hooks, by line or longline, by small boats. It arrives less damaged than trawl-caught whiting and sells for more. The mention of the gear must appear on the label.

What is the minimum size of whiting?

27 cm in the European Union waters of the Atlantic, the English Channel and the North Sea. The smallest EU size category starts at 110 g.

Sources

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