Bream | Facts & Information

Origin

Bream can be found in all the fresh waters of Europe, from Ireland to the Ural Mountains. In Romania, Bream is present in all waters, except mountain streams and lakes at high altitudes, between mountains.

It feels good in the Danube, in the overflow ponds, as well as on the lower courses of the larger rivers, which in the past were called the "bream area", due to the large number of these portions of the waters. Bream can be found in freshwater lakes in the seaside area (Razelm and Siutghiol), where it is fished in large quantities.

Bream is not missing from the sweet lowland lakes, such as Snagovul, Mogosoaia, Caldarusani, Cernica, taga-jacket lake system, Zau De Campie, CEFA ponds etc.

Of the rivers, in the waters of the Prut (on the Lower Course), Siret, Mures, Olt, Somes, Crasnei, Sicul, Jiu and Timis there are considerable quantities of bream, and in smaller numbers in the Bega channel.

Bream Feed

Like carp, Bream is an omnivorous fish: it feeds on both vegetable and animal matter.

Its main food consists of underwater plants, seeds, buds, leaves of plants, as well as their decaying parts, but also frames, worms, larvae of Chironomus plumosus, snails and small shells, tiny crayfish, as well as the decaying remains of small aquatic life.

Along with food, Bream also swallows some amounts of shore. According to observations, it also consumes the excrement of other fish, as well as those of domestic animals taken to the river for adaptation.

Some experts claim that Bream eats the eggs of perch and Pike. In winter, Bream usually does not feed. The greatest appetite occurs in the period following reproduction.

Bream Features

The body of the bream is tall, strongly compressed laterally, covered with relatively large scales, not too hard, on which are distinguished black dots, arranged in fans.

From the head to the dorsal fin, as well as in the portion between the pectoral fins and the tail, the back and belly respectively are devoid of scales, the dorsal fin is high, the first ray being four times longer than the last, the caudal fin is pronounced cropped, somewhat shorter in the upper half.

The swimmer below the tail is long, with less than 30 radii, stretching from the anus to near the tail. The mouth of the bream, small, opens slightly downward, the lips can be stretched forward, like a beak, just like in Carp. He has no whiskers. The lateral line is complete, well outlined.

As in several other species, Bream also applies the observation that the natural environment in which it lives leaves its mark on the color, in the sense that the specimens that live in murky waters or with more submerged vegetation are also darker in color, instead, Bream that live in rivers have a lighter color.

The back of the fish is grey-Blackish or blackish-Olive, as is the head. The sides of sexually mature specimens are yellowish, while younger specimens have silvery flanks.

The belly is white with silvery shades. During the breeding season, the neck of males acquires reddish shades, and on the body appear small horny protuberances, cufflinks characteristic of this period, spread randomly throughout the body, the fins of the bream are black-blue. The iris of the eyes can shine gold or silver, above it is noticeable a black dot.

Bream although it can sometimes reach respectable ages does not grow to very large sizes. The average length is 30-50 cm, at an average weight of 0.5-1 kg. But there are also specimens 60-65 cm long, with a body weight of 1.5-3 kg.

Similar from this point of view to the cyprinids, the vital space of the bream is provided by rivers with very slow currents and by the waters of deep lakes. It can also be found in swamps and puddles with deeper water portions, in large, muddy, clay pits, as well as in waters with a lot of underwater vegetation.

As a rule, it sustains itself in the immediate vicinity of the riverbed, where it scours in search of food. Waters with depths of several meters are used more effectively by Bream than carp. Sometimes it leaves deeper areas and climbs into the upper layers, where it gathers in groups and swims "floating" as if to the surface. Being a very skittish fish, it disappears extremely quickly, at the slightest suspicious noise, retreating again into the depths.

Sometimes the bream gathers in large groups and drains the bottom of the water in common, disturbing the water and causing air bubbles to rise to the surface. All these signs notify the experienced fisherman that there are many Bream in the area. In the spring, in the first warmer days, the sun's Rays attract the plaits that rise in large groups to the surface, near the bank, where the water is not deeper than 1-1.5 m and so it warms up more easily.

During spring overflows, Bream can also be found in portions that do not exceed this depth. With the arrival of hot summer days, Bream retreats to deeper areas in the water, from where it rises only when summer winds cause waves on the surface of the lake.

In Rivers, Bream lives with predilection in portions with slower course, but often appearing at the confluence of rivers with channels or other tributaries, in areas of meeting fast currents with slow ones, where swirls are formed, and in some larger bays, where waters form anaphores. Often Bream can be found digging the shallows in the river bank in search of food.

Bream Breeding

Bream reaches sexual maturity in the third or fourth year of life. The breeding season usually begins in May and ends in June, but if the spring is colder, it can also extend into the first half of July.

During this time, due to the intensification of blood circulation in the superficial blood vessels, the body of the bream acquires reddish shades, and on the body of the males appear the mentioned Horn cufflinks (and caught and kept alive Bream Redden the same). When the water temperature reaches 18-19degrees C, the bream gather in very numerous groups and start looking for less deep areas near the bank, where the riverbed is also covered by abundant submerged vegetation.

Their nuptial game is manifested in the fact that the bream constantly jumps from the water into the air, falling back on its side, in this way their wide body, upon impact with the surface of the water, produces a loud noise. The number of eggs laid, depending on the size of the female, varies between 100,000 and 330,000,with a diameter of 1-1.5 mm, are most often laid in two stages.

At the end of September and the beginning of October, organized in large groups, the bream seek deeper places of the water, where during the winter they have provided to some extent the necessary amount of oxygen to survive.

At the beginning of this period they still eat, but with the arrival of the first frosty days, they cease to feed. Although when taken out of the water they die quite quickly, the bream resists in the water and in conditions where the dissolved oxygen content is relatively small.

The meat of bream is tasty, white, with quite a lot of bones, caviar is tasty.