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Fish guide

Couch's bream

Pagrus pagrus · Bass and bream

Couch's bream
Photo: Etrusko25, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
What fish is this?Identify a fish from a photo

A rose-pink bream from warmer seas that turns up on the far south of the UK, especially the Channel Islands. It feeds mainly on molluscs and small crustaceans.[1]

How to recognise it

  • Rose-pink, darker on the back and silvery on the lower sides, with a high, rounded head.[1]
  • Dark head from the nape to the mouth corner, and white tips on the tail fin.[2]
  • Large canine-like teeth at the front of both jaws and crushing teeth behind.[2]

When and where

Found over
muddy ground, sand, rocky ground, seagrass[1]
Baits
squid, fish strip, cuttlefish, worms[1]

Sources

  1. Planet Sea Fishing: Couch's bream
  2. FishBase: Pagrus pagrus

These notes are a draft: we gathered them from the sources above and are still checking them. We don't work out best times for this fish yet. The size rules come from the same checked byelaws as every other fish.

Size and bag limit

Minimum size
Sizes vary along the coast. Pick your spot to see the rule there.
Bag limit
None set for the whole UK.
Minimum sizes around the UK
AreaMinimum size
Kent & Essex IFCANone
Sussex IFCANone
Southern IFCANone
Devon & Severn IFCANone
Cornwall IFCANone
Isles of Scilly IFCANot checked yet
North Western IFCANone
North Eastern IFCANot checked yet
Northumberland IFCANot checked yet
Eastern IFCANone
Welsh GovernmentNot checked yet
Scottish GovernmentNot checked yet
DAERA (Northern Ireland)Not checked yet