Just like fruits and vegetables, seafood products also have their own seasons. Very few people know about them and adapt their consumption to the natural rhythms of the sea. By now we are used to finding most kinds of food all year round and we expect to eat this fruit or that fish whenever we want, forgetting that nature produces it based on the needs of nature rather than the market.
Fish seasons depend on their reproductive cycle. By only eating them outside their reproductive season, we give species a chance to reproduce every year and stocks a chance to be renewed.
Inform yourself about your local fish!
An example of a fish calendar for the Mediterranean Sea
To eat in:
Winter
mullet, white sea bream, sardines, greater amberjack, anchovy, monkfish, bonito, mackerel, carpet-shell clam, turbot, octopus, cuttlefish, dolphin-fish
Spring
horse mackerel, mackerel, tub gurnard, sea bass, white sea bream, leerfish, bonito, sea bream
Fall
albacore, sea bass, mullet, turbot, tub gurnard, dolphin-fish
Summer
horse mackerel, sole, gilthead sea bream, greater amberjack, sea bass, tub gurnard, white sea bream, sardines, anchovies
All Year
gray mullet, striped sea bream, picarel, saddled sea bream
More Information Sources
Ofimer (in French)
Marine Stewardship Council
