Fully aware of the impact of port activities on aquatic and coastal environments, the Vauban port has implemented a voluntary environmental management approach, focused on the fight against chronic and accidental pollution, training of port personnel, awareness-raising among port users and the implementation of actions in favour of biodiversity.
The sea walk which links the old town to the harbour master’s office has been designed to allow you to discover the richness and beauty of the local biodiversity. Step by step, discover the species that inhabit the waters of the port thanks to the creations of the artist Pascal Papalia.
The Saupe or Sarpa Salpa, sometimes called yellow bream because of its longitudinal golden lines, can reach a length of 50cm.
It evolves in shoals from the surface to a depth of 20 cm and likes rocky bottoms and seagrass beds (posidonia).
It is the main herbivorous fish in the Mediterranean. Juveniles eat a few crustaceans, but as adults, their diet consists mainly of green algae, red algae or sea grass (Posidonia).
In the course of its life, the saupe changes sex. When young, it is male and reaches its sexual maturity at around 3 years of age at around 21cm. Then, it becomes female during its fourth year when it reaches between 26 and 28 cm.
The gilthead sea bream or sparus aurata prefers shallow coastal waters, sandy bottoms and Posidonia meadows, although some adults have been observed at depths of up to 150m.
Its size generally varies from 20 to 50cm as an adult. The golden frontal band bordered with black and the dark spot on the top of the operculum are the main clues for the gilthead bream.
A carnivorous species, its eight powerful canines and two rows of molars enable it to crush the shells of molluscs, of which it is very fond.
According to the latest European Union text, dated 21/12/2006, the capture of any individual under 20 cm is prohibited, regardless of the technique used.
The Oblade or Oblada melanura
The oblade lives in shoals above the rocky bottom and the posidonia meadows. It is most often found near the coast between 0 and 20m, but in winter it can also be found further offshore at depths of up to 30m.
It measures between 15 and 25cm and can be recognised by its black spot surrounded by white on the caudal peduncle.
It is an omnivorous species, it can feed on algae, eggs and larvae in open water and can become an opportunistic predator consuming small benthic animals.
According to the latest European Union text, dated 21/12/2006, the capture of any individual under 12 cm is prohibited, regardless of the technique used.
Peacock tuna or Salaria pavo
The peacock tuna is a benthic species, i.e. it lives on rocky bottoms, generally in crevices between pebbles and vegetation at shallow depths.
Like all blennies, the peacock blenny has only one dorsal fin. It measures a maximum of 13cm. It can be recognized by its blue ringed eyeball behind the eye.
The peacock tuna hunts and feeds mainly in the evening and early morning. Its diet is varied and consists of algae, eggs, molluscs, sponges, etc.
This fish is oviparous. It lays eggs once a year (May-June-July). The territorial and quarrelsome male can guard the eggs of several females.
Yellow-headed goby or Gobius xanthocephalus
The goby is a benthic species that lives on the rocky bottom. It likes to live in crevices where it is often associated with coralligenous. It is generally found between 5 and 20m but can descend to a depth of 80m.
Unlike blennies, gobies have two distinct dorsal fins. The yellow-headed goby is recognisable by its prominent eyes and especially by its yellow-tinted head and neck.
Research on the yellow-headed goby shows that it feeds mainly on small decapod crustaceans, molluscs and polychaete worms.
At night, the yellow-headed goby changes its livery and shows large black mottling all over its body.
Peacock Crenilabra or Symphodus tinca
This fish frequents rocky bottoms rich in algae and posidonia meadows to a depth of 20-25m.
The adult Peacock Rattlesnake measures 25-30cm. The males are green-yellow with 3 red or blue stripes while the females are less coloured, more beige with brown stripes.
The Peacock Crenilabra feeds on all kinds of small invertebrates (worms, crustaceans, sea urchins, bivalves …).
This species has a certain homochromy with its environment, i.e. it can change colour to camouflage itself. It can also change colour under the effect of stress.
Hooded shrimp or Athanas nitescens
It lives up to 65 m deep, in sheltered rocky areas, under stones, in rock crevices.
The particularity of this small shrimp (maximum 2cm) is that it almost always has a white dorsal line along the entire length of its body. The colours of the shrimp depend on the sex of each individual, the males being bluer and the females browner, but also on the environment and the depth at which they live.
The hooded shrimp is an omnivorous animal, eating microscopic organisms of both animal and plant origin.
The name ‘hooded shrimp’ is given to them because their eyes are covered by extensions of the carapace that form a sort of bonnet.
Lippu mullet or chelon labrosus
The Mullet is a coastal species that prefers the muddy and sandy bottoms of harbours, lagoons and estuaries, but also creeks and beaches, between the surface and fifteen metres deep.
The average length of the mullet is 50 cm and its particularity is linked to its thicker upper lip than the other mullet species.
The mullet feeds in the open water on vegetation and mud, rich in organic particles, and on the sea bed, sucking up small organisms from the bottom.
The mullet has a large and powerful caudal fin which allows it to make exceptional jumps of several metres out of the water and even to escape from predators, including humans, by jumping over nets for example.
Royal wrasse or Coris julis
The king mackerel lives in summer at a few meters depth on rocky bottoms or in sea grass beds and can go down to a hundred meters in winter.
They measure a maximum of 25cm and have a different livery depending on their sex. The female is brown with a white longitudinal stripe on the flank and the male has a green back with an orange longitudinal stripe and a large black patch on the flank.
The adult wrasse is carnivorous and feeds on molluscs, sea urchins, shrimps, etc. As a juvenile, it is a cleaner and feeds on external parasites of fish.
They bury themselves in the sand at night and when they are threatened. In winter, when the water temperature is too low, it adopts the same burying behaviour to hibernate.
Red Sea Star or Echinaster sepositus
It can be found from 0 to more than 250m depth. It lives on rocks as well as in posidonia meadows.
This starfish usually has 5 branches, but it can also have 4, 6 or even 7.
It is a detritivore, feeding on organic particles that are deposited on the sea bed.
It is very present in the Mediterranean even if it has suffered a lot because of the “souvenir fishing” because its dried body is very appreciated by tourists. So let us continue to protect it by observing it in its natural environment!