10 most important fish in the Mediterranean

Very often I get the question what are the 10 most important fish in the Mediterranean

What fish live here? Which fish have you seen, and did you see mammals such as dolphins and whales? Before listing the 10 most important fish in the Mediterranean, it is good to know that the Mediterranean sea has no dangerous fish, such as sharks. It is totally safe to swim in front of the Barcelona coast. Jellyfish do appear after a hot summer days in August and September. Contrary to popular believe, most jelly fish in the Mediterranean are not poisonous. However contact with some jellyfish can be painful. It is good to tell that none of our 6000 sailor customers on board has ever had a problem with a Jellyfish.

The Mediterranean is an important food supply for the southern European countries such as Spain Italy and France. The local fish menus vary per country, for Barcelona see our list with local Barcelona restaurants here, but one thing is clear, fish food is popular.

Fish and mammals seen during sailing

During our sailing tours we sighted various fish and mammals. Unfortunately it must be said that each year we see less fish due to local over fishing. Dolphins we have seen the most, followed by the Tuna, the Sun fish (Moon fish in Spanish), the conspicuous Swordfish, and a few turtles. Further away we saw twice a whale which was an very impressive sighting.What we see during sailing in front of the Barcelona coast is different from the 10 most important fish in the Mediterranean. I did an online study and visited CRAM an fantastic organization that focuses on the protection of sea life around Barcelona. You can visit them as well, see here a link to their website in Spanish and Catalan, in case you need help just contact me. The list below shows the 10 most important fish in the Mediterranean.

List with 10 most important fish in the Mediterranean

The list with 10 most important fish in the Mediterranean is based on the commercial fishing catches, and adapted for the Spanish coast. Unfortunately the European Union is not able to control its fishing effectively resulting in the rapid Bluefin tuna elimination of this list.

1. European anchovy is a prey fish or forage fish for bigger fish and one of most fished in the Mediterranean, it is  8 inch (20 cm) long and still in abundance. 
2. Sardine   – Sardines are an important forage fish for larger forms of marine life and reach about 6 inch (15 cm)
3. European hake  (Merluccius merluccius) up to 55 in (140cm), with a weight up to 32lb (15 kg).
4. Bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in terms of value, the most important fish and also most endangered fish in the Mediterranean.
5. Red mullets
6. Swordfish
7. Sardinellas, there are over twenty sorts of Sardinellas.
8. Blue whiting  (Micromesistius poutassou)
9. Needlefish,  are capable of making short jumps out of the water at up to 60 km/h (37 mph). We have had some needlefish on board, because needlefish swim near the surface, they often leap over the decks rather than going around.
10. Blue and red shrimp, a very popular dish, we fish and farm 6 million ton shrimp world wide each year.