Alan Davidson

Salema

Sarpa Salpa (Linnaeus)

Appears in

#93Mediterranean Seafood
Mediterranean Seafood

By Alan Davidson

Published 1981

  • About

Family Sparidae

REMARKS Maximum length 45 cm. An easy fish to recognize, with ten or eleven golden-yellow horizontal stripes.

Saupcs are to be found among banks of seaweed, on which they feed. Their herbivorous habits have, I am told, earned them the name chèvre (goat) in Algeria.

CUISINE The Kerkenna islanders eat a lot of this fish, grilled. The Tunisian saying, ‘shelba wa maiet el anba’, means that it is at its best during the vendange (grape harvest). When it is not at its best it may be improved by marinating before cooking.