Abramis is a
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
of
freshwaterFreshwater is naturally occurring water on the surface such as bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground in aquifers and underground rivers. Freshwater is characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts...
fishA fish is any aquatic vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins...
in
familyIn biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus...
family Cyprinidae of
orderIn scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
CypriniformesThe Cypriniformes are an order of ray-finned fish, including the carps, minnows, loaches and relatives. This order contains 5-6 families, over 320 genera, and more than 3,250 species, with new species being described every few months or so, and new genera being recognized regularly...
, containing the
typical breamBream is a general term for a number of species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including: Abramis Bream is a general term for a number of species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including: Abramis Bream is a general term for a number of...
s. The
type speciesIn taxonomy, a type species is a technical phrase, involved in the application of formal names...
is
A. brama, the
carp breamThe carp bream is a species of fresh-water fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae.The common bream can be caught in most stocking fisheries and canals and some rivers.Baits:-Maggots-Worms-Boilies...
. Native to the
PalearcticThe Palearctic or Palaearctic is one of the eight ecozones dividing the Earth surface.Physically, the Palearctic is the largest ecozone. It includes the terrestrial ecoregions of Europe, Asia north of the Himalaya foothills, northern Africa, and the northern and central parts of the Arabian...
ecozoneAn ecozone or biogeographic realm is the largest scale biogeographic division of the Earth's surface based on the historic and evolutionary distribution patterns of plants and animals...
, the
Abramis species are widespread throughout northern
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
from
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
to the
Caspian SeaThe Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. It has a surface area of 371,000 square kilometres and a volume of 78,200 cubic kilometres...
.
These fishes reach maximum overall lengths of 35–82 cm (14–33 in) and maximum recorded weights of about 1–6
kgThe kilogram is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units .[The spelling kilogram is the modern spelling used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures , the U.S...]
(2–13
lbThe pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
). Possessed of laterally-flattened lozenge-shaped bodies, the
Abramis species range in coloration from brownish to silver-grey.
Omnivorous, these fishes are bottom dwellers and feed on plant matter, invertebrates, and occasionally on smaller fish species, and they serve as prey for larger fishes, including
pikesEsox is a genus of freshwater fish, the only living genus in the family Esocidae — the esocids which were endemic to North America, Europe and Eurasia during the Paleogene through present from 65—0 mya, existing for approximately ....
.
The generic name
Abramis derives from the
GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
αβραμίς (
mulletThe mullets or grey mullets are a family of ray-finned fish found worldwide in coastal temperate and tropical waters, and in some species in fresh water also. Mullets have served as an important source of food in Mediterranean Europe since Roman times...
or bream).
Fishing
They are
fishedFishing is the activity of catching fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
both commercially and for sport, especially the economically important
carp breamThe carp bream is a species of fresh-water fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae.The common bream can be caught in most stocking fisheries and canals and some rivers.Baits:-Maggots-Worms-Boilies...
.
However bream do not often fight as hard as some other species native to the UK, and owing to their flat disc shaped profile, once tilted to one side are relatively easy to bring to the bank.
Common baits for bream include;
- Sweetcorn
Sweet corn is a variety of maize with a high sugar content and is in fact a vegetable not a fruit. Sweet corn is the result of a naturally-occurring recessive mutation in the genes which control conversion of sugar to starch inside the endosperm of the corn kernel...
- 2 or 3 grains hair-riggedThe hair rig is piece of fishing tackle allowing you to present baits without them sitting directly on your hook, therefore improving its efficiency. They are mainly associated with boilies but also work effectively with most other baits. The hair rig became popular in the 70's and has...
is an effective method.
- Maggot
Maggot is the common name of the larval phase of development in insects of the order Diptera . Sometimes the word is used to denote the larval stage of any insects.-Fishing:...
- Again hair rigging maggots can produce bream, or 2 to 3 maggot straight on the hook.
- Boilies - these can produce bream as long as the boiles are smaller, in a variety of flavours.
All three methods can be fished using a paternoster rig, and cage feeder with the bait, for example sweetcorn fixed inside using groundbait plugs, or maggot feeder when fishing maggots.
Species
Species include:
- Abramis ballerus
Abramis ballerus also known as zope or blue bream, is a fish native to Eurasia. Abramis ballerus feeds mostly on larger zooplankton. In Sweden it is seen in lake Vänern, Hjälmaren, Mälaren and adjoining waters, plus Helgeån waterbody. It can reach sizes for up to about 45 cm, and 0.8 kg....
– zope
- Abramis bjoerkna – silver bream
The Silver Bream is a species of ray-finned fish in the Cyprinidae family.It is found in Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Ireland, Italy,...
- Abramis brama – carp bream
The carp bream is a species of fresh-water fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae.The common bream can be caught in most stocking fisheries and canals and some rivers.Baits:-Maggots-Worms-Boilies...
- Abramis sapa – white-eye bream