Bogue

Bogue is native and common to Cypriot waters and is regularly caught in large quantities. It forms schools and its spawning period spawns from February to April. It is caught with the use of bottom trawling, vertical lines  and static gillnets with low soak durations. The length of this fish usually ranges from 10 to 15 centimeters, although it can exceed 30 centimeters.

It is a semi-pelagic species found on a variety of substrates (muddy, rocky, sandy, vegetated, etc.). It is an omnivorous fish, but feeds mainly on crustaceans and planktonic organisms. Bogue is a protogynous hermaphrodite fish and initially matures as a female and later transforms into a male. It reaches sexual maturity at around 13cm.

Bottom trawling is one of the most harmful ways to fish in our seas, as it drags heavy gear across the seabed, damaging all kinds of habitats, killing benthic life and leading to high catches of non-targeted species. In the southern part of Cyprus there is a restriction for trawling during the 16th of February and the 31st of May, and in the northern part bottom trawling is altogether banned. Gillnets used to target bogue in Cyprus are usually small mesh size and low soak duration, resulting in low catches of non-target species.

It is recommended to ask your fisher or fishmonger where the fish was caught and with which fishing method, as well as buying this species outside of its spawning period. Choose locally harvested seafood products by coastal small-scale fisheries and avoid bogue sourced in trawl fisheries.