Sheepshead Bream (Archosargus rhomboidalis) Profile

(Last Updated On: April 13, 2021)

The sheepshead sea bream, scientific name Archosargus rhomboidalis lives in the Atlantic Ocean rocks, fountains, and reservoirs. It is very common and striped and is a medium-sized fish. It eats oysters, cane, and other oysters.

Sheepshead bream is a common fish species, mostly native to the South Atlantic. Sheepshead is often confused with Sheepshead Porgs, which have similar stripes for teenagers.

They can be very playful though and are often called by different lines of their bodies and go under one eye. Also, the freshwater species Freshwater Drum is referred to as a Sheephead around Lake Michigan, and the Sheepshead Mino is a small brackish fish.

This fish, found throughout Nova Scotia from Nova Scotia to the west Atlantic around the Gulf of Mexico, is not found in the Caribbean Islands. It can grow to about 36 inches and 21 pounds but the picture sample was 12-1 / 2 inches and the weight was 1-1 / 2 pounds.

Sheepshead bream is a sea fish but it is free to enter the shackling water and sometimes to freshwater. It is considered commercially feasible and great food for fishing but is not threatened.

Habitat

Ref. Shipsheads are the tenth most common fish in Florida and are found in almost every habitat in Florida. It is found in certain regions in the Evergrid with salinity tolerance better than most fish species. It is commonly found around sea walls and rocky areas like jetty and pilings.

Sheephead bream is a medium flavored fish that I like to fry with a light powder of rice flour. I find the tasteless suited to wet cooking and in any case, the meat is too tender for hunting.

Bought: It is a western Atlantic and Caribbean fish but occasionally appears in Asian fish markets in Southern California.

Scale: Sheephead bream fish is completely covered with large-scale scales with moderate signals. These are not difficult to scrap but they will fly a bit as you scrap them.

Skin: When fried, the skin shrinks a lot but does not adhere tightly so it shrinks without distorting the fillet. The skin has a noticeably stronger odor than meat.

Fillet: Sheepshead bream is a fish that is easy to fillet with a large amount of fin ray and bone to follow the knife. The rib cage, though, is sharply active from the rear and is difficult to follow. Simply cut the ribs with the kitchen scissors and pull from the fillets.

Pull the ribs easily and clearly. There is a very straight centerline pin bone row for the front half of the fish. Feel these and pull them straight through the shaft of your long nose.

Yield: Yield is moderate with a 1.5 lb fish with 9.7 ounces of skin on (40%) and 7.9 ounces without skin (33%). As a result of the short yield from the fish’s heavy bone structure, what do you expect in a fish that makes it grind mollusks and crustaceans?

Stock: Heads, wings, and bones of the Sheepshead bream make a stock that has a “fishy” flavor instead of that I don’t particularly like.

SeaFish