Common dentex (Dentex dentex)

Photo by Karim Haddad on iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0

Fish·Active (October)

Common dentex

Dentex dentex

When
May–Oct — May, June, July, August, September, October. Earlier where the water warms first.
Habitat
Rocky reefs, rubble and drop-offs, mostly 15–50 m deep, around the Mediterranean, the Canaries and Madeira — fished from boats with live bait, jigs and big lures.
Identification
A big, oval, flat-sided seabream with rows of strong canine teeth, the front ones largest. Young fish are grey with black spots on the back; they turn pink as they mature, and old fish are bluish-grey with the spots faded.
Notes
The dentice of Mediterranean boat anglers: a solitary hunter of fish, squid and octopus that gathers in groups only for a few weeks to spawn in spring. Caught all year, but warm-season days are best. Long-lived, slow-growing and now scarce outside marine reserves.
Method
A live squid or small fish slow-trolled or drifted along the reef edge, or a heavy jig worked close to the bottom.
Caution
Listed as Vulnerable. Minimum sizes and bag limits vary by country and marine reserve — check local rules, and release big breeding fish.

Seasons, size limits and catch limits change every year and differ by water body. Check the current regulations for the country and the water before fishing.

Common dentex facts

Also called
Dentex; IGFA also lists dentice, denton and dente.
Family
Sparidae, the seabreams and porgies.
Native range
The north-eastern Atlantic from the Bay of Biscay to Cape Blanc in Mauritania, the Canaries and Madeira, and the whole Mediterranean into the western Black Sea; commonest south of 40°N. Rare as far north as the British Isles.
Habitat
Hard bottoms — rock and rubble — down to 200 m (650 ft), but usually 15–50 m (50–165 ft). Adults are solitary; young fish school.
Water temperature
Warm-temperate. AquaMaps puts its preferred surface water at about 16–22°C (61–72°F).
Size
Most adults 35–70 cm (14–28 in); the largest measured about 100 cm (39 in).
Record
IGFA all-tackle world record: 14.25 kg (31 lb 6 oz), Torsten Wetzel, Los Cristianos, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, 29 January 1999.
Lifespan
Long-lived: fish up to 36 years old have been aged off Corsica.
What it eats
Fish, squid, octopus and other molluscs.
Spawning
In spring — March to May in the Mediterranean — when adults gather for two or three weeks in the warmer water near the surface. Both sexes mature at two to four years.
Young fish
Young fish are greyish with black spots on the back and upper flanks, and turn pink as they grow.
Teeth and mouth
Rows of canine-like teeth, the outer row largest and the four to six at the front of each jaw strongly enlarged.
Look-alikes
Other dentex, such as the pink dentex (Dentex gibbosus), are easily confused with it. The common dentex’s tells are its rows of strong canine teeth and, in young fish, black spots on the back.
Eating
A highly valued food fish around the Mediterranean; Spain and Bosnia and Herzegovina also report farming it.
Status
Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: numbers fell by more than 30% over the three generations to 2009. It is far more abundant inside marine protected areas than outside them.

Interactive

Common dentex: size range

Move the slider from a typical adult to the largest recorded specimen, shown against objects of known size.

53 cm · 21 inmost adults102030405060708090100110120cm612182430364248ina grown-up's hand · 18 cma loaf of bread · 30 cma 4-year-old, lying down · 100 cm

Most adults you'll catch: 35–70 cm (14–28 in).

This common dentex: 53 cm. Longer than a loaf of bread, shorter than a four-year-old.

The record

IGFA all-tackle world record: 14.25 kg (31 lb 6 oz), Torsten Wetzel, Los Cristianos, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, 29 January 1999.

Questions people ask about common dentex

How big does a dentex get?

Most are about 50 cm (20 in); the species reaches 1 m (39 in) and over 14 kg (31 lb). The IGFA world record is 14.25 kg (31 lb 6 oz), from Tenerife in the Canary Islands in 1999.

When is the best time to fish for dentex?

Dentex are caught all year, but warm-season days are favoured, and most fishing is done in daylight with live bait, big lures or jigs worked near the bottom.

Why is the dentex Vulnerable?

It is long-lived, slow-growing and large, which makes it easy to over-fish. Mediterranean catches fell by about a third and West African catches by about two-thirds, and it is now scarce outside marine reserves.

Found in these regions

Checked against these sources ·

Sizes, records and ranges are for the species as a whole; local populations and rules vary. Records change; the record-keeper named above holds the current one.

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Also active in October