Two-banded sea bream

Photo: Philippe Guillaume · CC BY

Diplodus vulgaris forms dense mid-water schools around wreck superstructure, using the hard substrate as a refuge from open-water predators while foraging on invertebrates colonising the steel. The species is protandrous, all individuals beginning life as males before the dominant fish transitions to female — a strategy that maximises reproductive output in stable social groups. Schools around the Yades wrecks frequently exceed several hundred individuals, creating spectacular silver curtains above the main deck.