ID Guide: sea bass

Common names: sea bass, European seabass, common bass, capemouth, king of the mullets

Latin: Dicentrarchus labrax

Appearance: A large fish that is silver in colour, has two distinct dorsal fins, the first one having eight to nine spines. Juveniles have black spots on their upper body, which aren’t usually found on adults.

Where: Around all UK coasts, they live in deep water during the winter and shallow waters and estuaries in the summer. British anglers are limited to keeping two sea bass per day.

When: Summer months because the mature migrating fish come inshore.

How to use: a very popular fish to eat and found on most UK menus, sea bass is extremely popular and delicious pan-fried.