I can’t imagine that there is a single sea angler in the UK who doesn’t get excited over the prospect of catching black bream. These fish are the hard men of the lightweight division who scrap well above their weight, and not only do they fight well, but they are one of the best tasting fish that swim in UK waters. Their numbers seem to fluctuate over the years, which may be a perfectly natural response to subtle changes in their environment or possibly as a result of direct fishing pressure. Whatever the reason, the last few years have seen good numbers around our coasts and they are sitting quite comfortably in the Marine Conservation Societies list of fish that are within sustainable levels. I don’t know what you’re waiting for, get out there and let a bream rattle your rod-tip while the water is still warm.

Bream ID: Black Bream (Spondyliosoma cantharus) are deep-bodied oval fish, which reach a usual size of approximately 35 to 40 cm and occasionally up to 50 cm. Their flanks are predominantly silver in colour, but are often blueish to dark grey over the tops of the head and back. A number of fish, but not all, display a series of 6-9 dark vertical bars on the flanks, whilst nesting male fish become almost black in colour. A single dorsal fin extends for most of the body length, the first 11 spines of which are particularly sharp. The anal fin is about half the length of the dorsal fin and also has a number of sharp spines, which are almost guaranteed to find a place in the tips of your fingers. One of the most striking features of the bream is the small mouth, which is of prime consideration when building your rigs, small hooks and baits are the order of the day. There are 8 other bream species which are relatively common in our waters, though they are quite distinct from each other. Red Bream are possibly the most likely to be encountered, but are easily distinguished by their rose-pink colouration and a dark spot behind the gill cover. Gilt-Head Bream are similar in colour but occupy different environments, usually being found in brackish lagoons or the outer reaches of southern estuaries.

Lifestyle: Takes place close to the reefs which run through the English Channel and the Cornish and Welsh coats between April and early summer. The males build a nest, by excavating a depression in the sand or gravel with his tail. He guards this fiercely until he is able to attract a female to deposit her eggs in his nest. The eggs are about 1mm in diameter and are very sticky, which helps to attach them to the sand or gravel in the bottom of his pit. After the male has fertilised the eggs he guards them until they hatch. The newly hatched larvae stay close to the nest area for a number of weeks while they develop until they are ready to venture further north as water temperatures increase through the summer. Like other members of the bream family, Black Bream are hermaphrodite, that is, they are all female when hatched but at a length of about 20cm they undergo a sex change and become males.

Location: Black bream are towards the northern limit of their distribution in British waters. It is thought that they move northwards from Spanish and French waters in order to reach their feeding and breeding grounds by late spring. The stocks of fish can be found on occasion through the summer months all around the UK and Ireland coasts, but are always most common in southern and western waters. They will remain in our waters until September or October depending on weather conditions when they will begin their southwards migration. Shoals of bream are usually associated with rocky inshore reefs and wrecks. For most of the UK these are very often in quite shallow water, though they also frequent the deep reefs that are found around the shores of the Channel Islands.

Facts:
Black Bream (Spondyliosoma cantharus)

• Oval shaped silvery fish
• Small mouth and lips
• Single spiny dorsal fin
• Shore record 6lb 8oz 6dr, 2001, Sark, C.I.
• Boat record 6lb 14oz 04dr, 1977, South Devon