Picarel

picarel an English name which serves for two Mediterranean fish of the genus Spicara: S. maena and S. smaris. Almost all Mediterranean languages have separate names for them, e.g. Spanish chucla and caramel, French mendole and picarel.

These small torpedo-shaped fish have a maximum length of 25 and 20 cm (10"/8") respectively. S. maena has a deeper body than the other, but in those places where picarel are eaten with enthusiasm (notably Greece, Yugoslavia, and SE Italy) it seems to be S. smaris which is preferred. Both species have a range which extends a little way out into the Atlantic.