Fish & Shellfish

The edible crab has a robust shell, wider than it is long, with a reddish-brown colour and two strong claws with black tips. It is found in the northeast Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea, where it dwells in shallower waters for the first six months of its life. It then moves to deeper areas, up to 100 meters, including in lagoons and estuaries. The edible crab feeds essentially on crustaceans and bivalves, which it captures and kills by squeezing them with its claws. It reproduces during spring and summer, after females shed their shells. Female edible crabs carry up to 3 million eggs in their abdomen for six months, during which time they remains hidden under rocks or buried in holes they dig.

The tub gurnard is a species that reproduces on Portuguese shores at considerable depths. It feeds on small molluscs, rustaceans and some fish species. It is orange-red in colour, with ridges and bony plaques on the head and along the back. The pectoral fins are very large, resembling wings. The tub gurnard prefers cold, deep waters, where it normally lives, weighing at most between eight and 10 kilos.

The sea bass has an elongated silvery gray body with blue hues. It dwells in the northeast Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea, where young sea bass can be found in shoals near estuaries, due to this species easy adaptation to low-salinity waters. Adult sea bass dwell in waters up to 100 meters deep, living a more solitary life. This species feeds on fish, crustaceans and molluscs. It reproduces from January to April.

The clam is a bivalve that includes many species. It has a shell that can vary from light gray to dark brown or display cream, brown or greyish hues, with striations and well-marked lines, presenting a characteristic lattice pattern. This mollusc lives on the sea bottom, near the coast, or on riverbeds and lagoons, buried in sand or mud. It feeds through filtration, with a diet of microalgae carried by currents, captured through a tubelike structure or siphon. It reproduces in summer.

Crabs are crustaceans that can also survive out of water. Their flat bodies are covered by a hard shell that provides protection. They have long, thin legs that allow them to walk under water, swim and dig. The claws, used to attack and to catch prey, are their first pair of legs. The antennae have several functions, including as sensory organs, allowing them to find food. The protruding eyes can retreat inside the shell for added security. The crab is a nocturnal animal, which usually spends the day hidden between rocks and coral.

The horse mackerel has an elongated, gray body with blue hues on the back and silver shades on the belly and sides. It lives in the northeast Atlantic, the Madeira Archipelago and the Mediterranean Sea, where it can be found from the surface to the bottom of the sea, in coastal areas between 100 to 200 meters deep. It forms large shoals that undertake substantive migrations, feeding on small fish, crustaceans and molluscs. It reproduces from December to April. Other names for the horse mackerel include scad, saurel and European horse mackerel.

The jack mackerel is quite common in the Atlantic Ocean and throughout the Mediterranean. This species is normally found in big shoals all along the Portuguese coast, at moderate depths, feeding on small crustaceans, fish and molluscs. The jack mackerel undertakes considerable migrations and reproduces between December and April.

Pouting fish live in the northeast Atlantic, from the south of Norway to Morocco, and in the Mediterranean Sea, in rocky or sandy areas, forming small schools. Juvenile pouting fish live closer to the shoreline and can enter estuaries. In spring, to reproduce, adults move closer to coastal areas. Pouting fish feed on crustaceans, molluscs and small fish and can grow to a maximum length of 45 centimetres.

Juvenile red porgy are usually found in shallow, sheltered areas, alter migrating to deeper waters. Adult red porgy mainly live between 50 and 150 meters deep. Fish of this species can however be found up to 250 meters deep. Red porgy gather in schools and the largest fish can weigh up to eight kilos. These specimens are only found far from the shore, in deeper waters.

The cockle is a filtering bivalve mollusc that lives buried at a depth of about 5 centimetres in sand or mud, where it feeds by filtering the phytoplankton from the water. When threatened, it can quickly burrow deeper by the retraction of the foot that keeps it anchored, which manoeuvre sometimes sallows cockles to escape predators. Cockles are very common and up to 10,000 animals per square meter can be found. Because of its high tolerance to low salinity environments, it is also frequently found in estuaries.

The striped red mullet is a small reddish fish. It can be found in the northeast Atlantic and the Mediterranean, where it dwells at the bottom of the sea, up to 100 meters deep. This species forms shoals and feeds on crustaceans, small molluscs and fish. It reproduces from late winter to early summer. Juvenile striped red mullets live closer to the surface, only moving to deeper waters once they’ve matured into adulthood. Their two chin barbels contain chemosensory organs and are used to probe the sand for food.