Pagrus Pagrus

-Common SeaBream – Red Porgy –

The red porgy (Pagrus pagrus), or common seabream, is a species of marine ray-finned fish in the family Sparidae. It is found in shallow waters on either side of the Atlantic Ocean, being present on the western coast of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea as well as the eastern coasts of North and South America and the Caribbean Sea. It feeds on or near the seabed and most individuals start life as females and later change sex to males.

Description

The common pagre measures a maximum of 80 cm. The size of the individuals visible in diving is rather 15 to 40 cm, while on the stalls of the fishmongers, it is not uncommon to see pagres of 60 cm.
Like most Sparidae, the pagre has a high body with compressed flanks.
It is a silvery fish with pink reflections, more or less dark, on the back . The sides are sometimes embellished with blue dots. In juveniles, the back may be marked with thick red transverse bands at night. There is also a dark area between the eyes, as well as vertically, under the eye.

The fins have thorny rays. The dorsal, very long, can fold into a groove; the pecs have a dark spot at their base; the pelvic muscles are directly above the pectoral ones; the anal has 7-9 rays and 3 spines. The caudal fin, dark pink in color, is indented with tips edged with bluish white . All the fins can have more or less blue reflections.
The head has a sloping , convex profile , with an arched forehead at eye level. The muzzle is short and rounded. The jaws, provided with large caniniform teeth (4 above and 6 below), followed by smaller teeth, are very powerful. The scales are ctenoid *.

Biotope

Distribution and Habitat

The red porgy is found in warm coastal waters on either side of the Atlantic Ocean. On the eastern side, its range extends from southern Britain to Western Sahara, including the waters around the Canary Islands and Madeira and the Mediterranean Sea; its range includes the Sea of Marmara but does not extend into the Black Sea. On the western side of the Atlantic, its range extends from the eastern coast of the United States southward to Argentina; it is present in the Gulf of Mexico and the western part of the Caribbean Sea but not the eastern part.

The pagrus, is a demersal specie, lives on sandy bottoms, rocky areas, or rocks covered with algae or near vertical walls, juveniles often inhabit beds of seagrass or sometimes enter lagoons. . It is found between 5 and 250 m deep. Young people live more readily towards shallow seagrass beds, where they find refuge and food.
Solitary, the pagre likes to live near the coast during hot periods. In the fall, he returns to explore the deep offshore areas. In general, large specimens stay in these depths.

Taxonomy

This fish was first described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his System Naturae. He gave it the name Sparus pagrus but it has since been moved to the genus Pagrus.^[2] Common names given to this fish include red porgy, common seabream and porgy. Along the Gulf Coast, it is known as the white snapper, even though it is not a true snapper.^[3] In the United Kingdom, it is known as Couch’s seabream after the Cornish ichthyologist Dr. Jonathan Couch who first discovered this species in the waters around Britain.^[4]

Ecology

Alimentation

The pagrus is a carnivorous fish, which feeds mainly on crustaceans (shrimps, crabs, etc.), and bivalve or cephalopod molluscs.
The pagre is not a fish hunter like the dentate, and incidentally hunts other fish. Indeed, when a fish has a jaw suitable for crushing shells or shells, it is not suitable for hunting fish. Algae are not part of the pagre’s diet even if it happens to accidentally swallow it while feeding on the bottom.

Red porgies are demersal fish, feeding mostly on or near the seabed on crustaceans, molluscs and small fish.^[6]

Reproduction

They are protogynous hermaphrodites, with most individuals starting life as females and at some point changing sex to males.^[6] The fish reach sexual maturity at two or three years of age. The sex change occurs at a wide range of sizes (206 to 417 mm (8.1 to 16.4 in) TL) and a wide range of ages (two to nine years). Not all fish change sex: some fish are primary males whose ovarian tissue atrophies before they reach maturity, others are secondary males, behaving as females for a few cycles before changing sex, and some remain as females even when large, with only rudimentary male tissue being present. There is some evidence that the timing of the sex change is linked to social or environmental factors.^[1]

The reproduction takes place from April to June, when the adults come up from deep water. Eggs of 1 mm in diameter develop in open water. The juveniles approach the coasts from a size of 1.5 cm, we can then observe them from June-July, mainly in the Posidonia meadows.

Associated Life

Like many fish, it can be parasitized by an anilocre .

Various Biology

Solitary and nectodemersal *, the pagres do not form schools.
While this feature does not necessarily help the diver in their recognition, the large pagre teeth are a reliable distinguishing feature of this species.

Status

The red porgy is an important species for both commercial and recreational fishing, especially on the southeastern coast of the United States, Argentina, and the Mediterranean Sea. It is usually taken by rod and line. Populations have declined because of over-exploitation, but in some areas minimum size limits have been set to try to redress this. Stocks have also been augmented by the use of aquaculture, particularly in the Mediterranean, and aquaculture is being considered in North America. Despite the population declines in some areas and the fish’s complex biological needs, overall, it is not at risk of extinction and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of “least concern“.^[1]

Similar Species

There is a great risk of confusion with the common pageot, Pagellus erythrinus , the difference is made at the level of the caudal fin, the pagre has white ends unlike the pageot.
It can also be confused with the blue-spotted pagre ( Pagrus caeruleostictus ), pink with blue spots on the sides and back but whose dorsal fin has filamentous rays.
It can possibly also be confused with the common dentate ( Dentex dentex ), which has a less rounded forehead and which does not have a white spot on the caudal.

Further Information

This fish is rather wary but it will be able to come to observe you if you are not careful with it.
Quite solitary, it is only encountered occasionally by divers, although it is not uncommon. Juveniles are much more frequent during the summer period. This fish, living fairly deep, is generally caught by trawlers.