It feeds on or near the seabed and most individuals start life as females and later change sex to males.

This fish was first described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his System Naturae.

[6] The red porgy is found in warm coastal waters on either side of the Atlantic Ocean.

[3] They are protogynous hermaphrodites, with most individuals starting life as females and at some point changing sex to males.

[1] The red porgy is an important species for both commercial and recreational fishing, especially on the southeastern coast of the United States, Argentina, and the Mediterranean Sea.

Populations have declined because of over-exploitation, but in some areas minimum size limits have been set to try to redress this.