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Gulf of Gabes - Key Species

Red mullet

Surmullet

Annular seabream

Axillary seabream

Common sole

Round sardinella

Common octopus

Caramote prawn

Loggerhead turtle

Mediterranean seagrass

Red mullet (Mullus barbatus)

Mullus barbatus belongs to the family of Mullidae. It is characterized by two barbels used for detecting food. It feeds mainly on crustaceans, echinoderms and polychaeta. Mullet commonly range in size from 10 and 20cm up to 25cm.Red mullet is a benthic fish living on the continental shelf to 250m depth on soft bottoms or seagrass meadows.It is abundant all along the Tunisian coast and spawns during the spring. It is caught by bottom trawling, trammel nets and longlines. Stocks are overexploited in the Gulf of Gabes.

Surmullet (Mullus surmuletus)

Mullus surmuletus belongs to the family of Mullidae. It is characterized by a red color and two barbels used for detecting food. It feeds mainly on crustaceans, echinoderms and polychaeta. Size is commonly between 10 and 25cm up to 35cm.Surmullet is a benthic fish occurring on coastal rocky areas. It is particularly abundant in the Gulf of Gabes and spawns during the spring. It is targeted by bottom trawling, trammel nets and longlines. Stocks are fully exploited in the Gulf of Gabes.

Annular seabream (Diplodus annularis)

Diplodus annularis belongs to the family of Sparidae. It is characterized by a black ring spot at the beginning of the caudal fin. It feeds on annelids, crustaceans, molluscs and algae. Individuals are commonly between 8 and 18cm up to 23cm in size. Annular seabream is a coastal benthic fish living mainly on sandy bottoms and seagrass meadows. It spawns between April and May. The species is particularly abundant in the Gulf of Gabes where it is highly appreciated by consumers. Diplodus annularis is fished by bottom trawling, gill nets and a traditional fixed gear called Cherfias.

Axillary seabream (Pagellus acarne)

Pagellus acarne belongs to the family of Sparidae. It is characterized by a black spot on the pectoral fin. It feeds mainly on crustaceans, molluscs, echinoderms and algae. Size is commonly between 10 to 25cm up to 36cm.Axillary seabream is a benthic fish living at depths between 30 and 40m. It is fished by bottom trawling, trammel nets and longlines. Stocks are overfished in the Gulf of Gabes.

Common sole (Solea vulgaris)

Solea vulgaris belongs to the family of Soleidae. It is characterized by the location of the eyes on the right side. It spawns from March to May and feeds on polychaetes, cnidarians, molluscs, crustaceans and small fish. Fish size ranges between 15 and 40 cm up to 50cm. Common sole is a benthic fish living on coastal sandy or muddy bottoms up to 200m in depth. Sole are targeted by bottom trawling and gillnets. Stocks are fully exploited in the Gulf of Gabes.

Round sardinella (Sardinella aurtia)

Sardinella aurtia is a small pelagic belonging to the family of Clupeidae.Individuals range in size from between 15 and 25 cm up to 29 cm.Round sardinella is a planktivorous species spawning between July and September. The species form schools and migrate seasonally. Fish rise to the surface at night and concentrate under light sources. This behavior makes the species ideal for exploitation using by the fishing with lights technique. This technique consists on fishing vessels using lights in order to illuminate the surface of the water to concentrate fish schools. Stocks are under-exploited.

Common octopus (Octopus vulgaris)

Octopus vulgaris is a cephalopod belonging to the family of Octopodidae. It has eight arms with two rows of adhesive discs. The common size of the mantle is between 10 and 20cm up to 23cm. The common octopus is benthic and coastal, located at depths up to 100 m on rocky and sandy bottoms. This octopus spawns from March to October and lays eggs in braided cords. It is mainly caught by pots in the Gulf of Gabes and is of important commercial value. Stocks are overfished in the Gulf of Gabes.

Caramote prawn (Penaeus kerathurus)

Penaeus kerathurus is a crustacean belonging to the family of Penaeidae. The prawn ranges in size from between 8 and 17cm up to 22.5cm. The caramote prawn is a demersal and coastal species occurring at depths between 5 and 90m on sandy or sandy-muddy bottoms. The species spawns in early summer. Penaeus kerathuru is caught by trammel nets and bottom trawls and is of important commercial value. The stocks are fully exploited in the Gulf of Gabes. Penaeus kerathurus is experiencing strong competition from two Lessepsian species Trachypenaeus curvirostris and Metapenaeus monoceros.

Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta)

Caretta caretta is a demersal species that feeds on invertebrates and small fish. It nests and spawns on the islands of Kuriat and Kerkenah, located in the northern part of the Gulf of Gabes. In these areas, Caretta caretta spawns mainly in June and July, the sizes of the females ranging from 73 to 85cm.Unfortunately, this species is threatened by interactions with fishing activity, various forms of pollution and urbanization and destruction of nesting beaches. The loggerhead turtle is protected by various conventions.

Mediterranean seagrass (Posidonia oceanica)

Posidonia oceanica is a marine phanerogam endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. It characteristically forms meadows used by many marine species as a refuge and a spawning area. Posidonia oceanica is a sensitive species that does not tolerate pollution and variations in salinity. The seagrass meadow of the Gulf of Gabes was the largest in the Mediterranean Sea, but unfortunately it has declined significantly under the combined effect of the destruction by trawling and pollution.