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Corsica
A fish reared in the open sea, in gulfs swept by the wind and churned by the current, close enough to its wild cousin that it can be hard to tell them apart.
Seafood from Corsica.
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The earliest trials in rearing sea bass in Corsica date back to the 1970s and 1980s, in the shallow saltwater lagoons of the island's eastern coast. These natural basins, sheltered from swell but with limited water renewal, soon showed their limitations: in the late 1980s, fish farmers shifted their operations towards the wide-open gulfs of the western and southern coasts, where the fish achieved better growth rates and higher survival rates, buoyed by more stable, better-oxygenated waters with lower bacterial loads. Seventeen gulfs, from Girolata to Porto-Vecchio in Corse-du-Sud, and from Saint-Florent to Galéria in Haute-Corse, are currently identified as suitable for marine fish farms: sheltered from swell and storms, with moderate temperatures and water constantly replenished by powerful oceanic currents.
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Since 2004, Corsican fish farmers have been united within the syndicat « Mare e Stagni Corsi », in partnership with the Université de Corse and the CNRS, to promote their production around strict quality standards—regular parasitological monitoring, absence of antibiotic treatments—which earned Corsican farmed sea bass, sea bream and meagre the national Label Rouge for farmed marine sea bass, sea bream and meagre. Corsica has since established itself as France's leading producer of adult marine fish and the island's second-largest export sector after viticulture, with 80 to 90% of an estimated annual production of 1,200–1,500 tonnes (sea bass, sea bream and meagre combined) heading to the mainland and Europe.
Building on this organised sector, the syndicat launched a protected geographical indication application specific to Corsican sea bass and sea bream. The product specification for the PGI « Loup de Corse / Bar de Corse » was approved by the INAO's national IGP-LR-STG committee at its meeting on 16 October 2025, then endorsed by ministerial order on 18 February 2026. A month later, on 17 March 2026, the syndicat « Mare e Stagni Corsi » was officially recognised as a defence and management body (ODG) to steer this new designation, alongside the sister PGI « Daurade de Corse ». The application, forwarded to the European Commission, is now entered in the eAmbrosia register under number EUGI00000021894 (file PGI-FR-03511)—under examination, European recognition has not yet been granted.
Appearance
A fish of the species Dicentrarchus labrax, slender and elegant in profile, with a muscular body that is elongated and compressed along the flanks, and a long, powerful head; the belly ranges from creamy white to silvery white, and the back from silvery grey-green to black.
Texture
Lean flesh—less than 9% fat—and a musculature developed through sustained swimming in cages, against a constantly renewed current, giving it a texture close to that of a wild fish, firmer than that of other farmed sea bass, which are often less slender and fattier.
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The product specification makes speed a guarantee rather than a marketing claim: at most four hours elapse between harvesting and primary packaging, with the fish going straight from the cage to ice. Sold whole—ungutted or gutted—or cut into fillets, on ice or vacuum-packed, Loup de Corse is recognised by the tag bearing the PGI logo attached to the gill when marketed whole.
No official quality sign has been obtained to date. The product specification for the PGI (IGP) « Loup de Corse / Bar de Corse », put forward by the Syndicat des aquaculteurs corses « Mare e Stagni Corsi », was approved by the INAO's national IGP-LR-STG committee at its meeting on 16 October 2025, then endorsed by ministerial order on 18 February 2026—steps in the national procedure prior to European registration. The application, forwarded to the European Commission and entered in the eAmbrosia register (EUGI00000021894, file PGI-FR-03511), remains under examination at this stage: PGI recognition has not yet been granted. Furthermore, since 2004, Corsican fish farmers have adhered to a national Label Rouge covering farmed marine sea bass—a generic quality sign, not specific to Corsica, distinct from the ongoing PGI application.
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