Striped Seabream

The striped seabream cruises sandy shallows in loose company, its silvery flanks striped like a barcode as it noses along the bottom for buried prey.

Also known as: sand steenbras

Its silvery body with many narrow, evenly spaced dark bars is more finely striped than most similar seabream, which tend to show fewer or blotchier markings; this fine, even striping is the clearest mark to look for.

This is a fairly deep-bodied fish, growing up to 55 cm long, though most seen are closer to 30 cm. The head is about as long as it is tall, with a slightly curved upper profile. The head and body are silver, crossed by many narrow, dark vertical bands running down the flanks.

This species lives in shallow coastal seas down to about 150 m, most often between 10 and 20 m. It favours sandy and muddy seabeds, seagrass meadows, and the sheltered waters of estuaries and bays, mainly across the Mediterranean and the eastern Atlantic coast.

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  Annular Seabream

  Diplodus annularis

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  Common Dentex

  Dentex dentex

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  Common Pandora

  Pagellus erythrinus

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  Common Two-banded Seabream

  Diplodus vulgaris

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  Gilthead seabream

  Sparus aurata

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  Saddled Seabream

  Oblada melanurus