Roman Seabream

Fascinating facts about the Roman Seabream

• A fish that looks like a living sunset, its head, body and fins blaze orange with a blue bar between the eyes, can grow up to 50 cm (20 in), though most are only about 32 cm (13 in).
• When a female Roman seabream reaches a certain size, it flips its sex and becomes a territorial male, a strategy known as protogynous hermaphroditism. The new male then guards a home range of 1,000–3,000 m² (11,000–32,000 ft²).
• During spawning, pairs perform an elaborate courtship before releasing eggs high above the seabed. Females even stray beyond their usual 1,000–3,000 m² home range during this time.
• The Roman seabream’s genome, unveiled in 2026, spans about 758 Mb and contains 39,218 predicted protein-coding genes, with a BUSCO completeness of 99.3%.
• Line fishing, using a rod, reel or handline, leaves little impact on Roman seabream numbers, unlike spearfishing, which has driven declines around Port Elizabeth and False Bay. In Marine Protected Areas, recoveries have been recorded.

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