The Salema Porgy, which is also commonly referred to as the Salema, the Dreamfish, the Goldline, or the Cow Bream, is one of the most common and easily recognisable fish of coastal waters belonging to the Sparidae family. The body is oval and elongated with a silver colour that often has greenish or blue reflections on the back. Its most striking and distinctive feature is the 10 to 12 bold, golden horizontal stripes that run along its sides from the head to the tail, making it stand out immediately in the water.

Its eyes are relatively small and golden in colour. The mouth is small but possesses very sharp teeth that resemble incisors, which it uses to shave algae off the rocks.

It is a coastal benthic species that lives in shallow waters, usually from the surface down to 20 metres deep, although it can reach 70 metres. It is an extremely social fish and forms dense, populous schools that move with absolute synchronisation, like a single organism. It is found mainly on rocky bottoms and Posidonia seagrass meadows, where it finds abundant food.

This section describes the great peculiarity of this species. It is the only fish of the Sparidae family in the Mediterranean that is strictly herbivorous as an adult. While young individuals feed on small crustaceans, adults feed exclusively on algae and marine vegetation, grazing continuously on the rocks like cows of the sea.

Fisheries & Economic Value

The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the Salema Porgy as a species of Least Concern. Scientific studies have highlighted its critical ecological role in controlling algal growth on rocky reefs. Furthermore, research has linked its toxicity to consumption of the invasive seaweed Caulerpa taxifolia, which contains the toxin caulerpin, and has confirmed that the risk of hallucinations increases when the fish feeds in areas with high concentrations of this plant.