Striped Bream

Photo: Falk Viczian Solarboot-Projekte gGmbH · CC BY-NC

Large schools of striped bream patrol the sandy terraces between reef sections, using their fleshy lips to excavate invertebrates from the sand. They are highly gregarious and move in coordinated sweeps across the bottom, disturbing the sediment and creating feeding opportunities for following wrasse and mullet. Their striped flanks flash silver in the Ionian light, making dense schools a spectacular sight from above.