European seabass - Growth

Growth characteristics:
In the hatcheries, growth of European seabass larvae can vary considerably depending upon hatchery practices as well as upon the time of weaning onto compound feeds. The time normally required to produce 2 g fry starting from viable larvae, at a water temperature of 18 to 20 °C is about four months (Figure 4). The length-weight relation during early larval development is presented in Figure 5. From the hatcheries, the young juveniles (1–5 g) are transferred to “pre-growing” cage farm sites where they are grown, screened and sorted and then transferred into bigger production cages. They reach commercial size (300–400 g) in about 24 to 36 months (Figures 6 and 7).