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Black Bream

Dichistius capensis

  • Fish
  • IUCN: Not evaluated
  • Usual depth43–360 m
  • Water temperature15–27 °C
  • Best monthsMarch, April, and May
  • How commonOccasional
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Photo credit: (c) Peter Southwood, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Peter Southwood · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

The galjoen, black bream, or blackfish is a species of marine fish found only along the coast of South Africa, Namibia and Angola. Galjoen is the national fish of South Africa.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Galjoen”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

  • January: 13 records
  • February: 10 records
  • March: 72 records
  • April: 119 records
  • May: 98 records
  • June: 43 records
  • July: 49 records
  • August: 41 records
  • September: 40 records
  • October: 43 records
  • November: 11 records
  • December: 14 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 43–360 m · Deepest record: 360 m

  • 40–50 m: 2 records
  • 50–60 m: 0 records
  • 60–70 m: 0 records
  • 70–80 m: 0 records
  • 80–90 m: 0 records
  • 90–100 m: 0 records
  • 100–110 m: 0 records
  • 110–120 m: 0 records
  • 120–130 m: 0 records
  • 130–140 m: 0 records
  • 140–150 m: 0 records
  • 150+ m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 15–27 °C

  • 14–16 °C: 61 records
  • 16–18 °C: 277 records
  • 18–20 °C: 9 records
  • 20–22 °C: 4 records
  • 22–24 °C: 5 records
  • 24–26 °C: 12 records
  • 26–28 °C: 1 records

Names and classification

English
Black Bream, Blackfish
Names in 1 more languages
Spanish
galjoen

Other scientific names: Coracinus aper, Coracinus capensis, Dichistius falcatus, Dipterodon capensis

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

  • Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
  • Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
  • Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
  • 440 open-data records from 1974 to 2023.
  • Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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