The Pandora bream is a slim, long bream, mostly silver with a pinkish tinge and blue-purple speckles. Our sources do not record it off the Sussex coast. British boat record: confirmed.
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About the pandora bream
The Pandora bream is a slim, long bream, mostly silver with a pinkish tinge and blue-purple speckles. A fish with that pink tinge and those speckles is worth a second look if it ever comes over the side.
Its home is mainly the Mediterranean, with smaller numbers across European waters. In Britain it is a rare visitor, so most anglers will never see one. It eats small crustaceans and invertebrates. The size given for the species is around four pounds.
The British boat record is a fish of 3lb 6oz 12dr, caught off Newquay in Cornwall in 1997, so one has been landed here, but that is as much as the sources tell us. They give no methods and no months for it, and nothing for Sussex, so none are claimed here. Because it turns up so rarely, there is very little written about how best to catch it in British waters.
If you are fishing off Sussex, this is not a species to plan a trip around. Treat it as a pleasant surprise if one ever turns up, and show the skipper what you have caught.
On the boat
The sources we use do not say how or when Pandora bream are caught from a boat in Britain. No months and no methods are given, and there is no Sussex information. What is known is that it is a rare visitor to UK waters. The only British boat record on the official list came from off Newquay, Cornwall, so a boat catch is possible, but we cannot tell you where or when to look.
British boat-caught record
Confirmed record
- Weight
- 3lb 6oz 12dr (1.552kg)
- Where
- Off Newquay coast, Cornwall
- When
- 1997
- Angler
- C Stone
Confirmed British boat-caught record: C Stone, 3lb 6oz 12dr (1.552kg), off the Newquay coast, Cornwall, 1997. This is the official British Record Fish Committee listing. The official weight-based boat records were frozen in June 2024, and newer boat claims are now by length only.
How we label records: the British boat-caught records table explains confirmed, claimed and none listed.
Care and rules
The source gives no UK minimum size for Pandora bream and says only that it is rare in the UK. Our sources have no release or eating advice for it. Rules change: check the current rules before you fish.
Did you know?
Its home is mainly the Mediterranean, and it is only a rare visitor to British waters. Yet the official British boat record, a fish of 3lb 6oz, was caught off Newquay in Cornwall in 1997.
Questions about the pandora bream
What is the British boat-caught record for pandora bream?
Confirmed British boat-caught record: C Stone, 3lb 6oz 12dr (1.552kg), off the Newquay coast, Cornwall, 1997. This is the official British Record Fish Committee listing. The official weight-based boat records were frozen in June 2024, and newer boat claims are now by length only.
Is pandora bream caught off the Sussex coast?
Not according to the sources behind this guide.
When is the best time to catch pandora bream?
Our sources do not give months for the pandora bream, for Sussex or for the rest of Britain.
How big does a pandora bream get?
Around four pounds.
Sources
- British Sea Fishing: Bream species: britishseafishing.co.uk
- BRFC sea fish listings June 2026: anglingtrust.net
Picture: jujurenoult, file page on Wikimedia Commons. Every picture in the guide is listed on the picture credits page.
