Abstract
This paper presents the first recorded sighting of a Stephanolepis diaspros school at a sea-cage fish farm in the Bay of Izmir, north-eastern Aegean Sea. On 17 December 2024, a group of 20 individuals of S. diaspros was observed around a sea cage used for rearing meagre (Argyrosomus regius) off Urla, at a depth of 30 m. This study not only documents the first observation of S. diaspros in a fish farm in the northern Aegean Sea but also provides the first evidence of this fish species intruding into sea cages.
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