Anchovy

European Anchovy-  Scientific name- Engraulis encrasicolus

Conservation status

A small green fish, measuring 2 to 40 centimetres, with a silver stripe on it’s fin giving off blue reflections. They originated between 33.9 and 56 million years ago in the Eocene epoch.

Anchovies tend to live in temperate seas around the world and typically form large schools. They often swim near to the shore and can be found in estuaries and bays. They rarely live longer than 4 years and spawn around the age of 2.

Anchovies are all wild caught. Their numbers are in decline due to climate change and poor fishing practices. The Bay of Biscay is considered the best source by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) with fishing in areas such as the Gulf of Cadiz and southern coast of Portugal being a cause for concern and contributing to their reduced numbers. They are also fished off the coast of Cornwall.

Anchovies are normally classed as an oily fish and are traditionally processed by being gutted,  salted in brine and tinned.

They eat plankton and recently hatched fish and are a source of food for almost every predatory fish as well as mammals such as birds.

They are filter-feeders that open their mouths as they swim. As water passes through the mouth and out the gills, food particles are sieved by gill rakers and transferred into the esophagus.

Sources

Marine Conservation Society -  https://www.mcsuk.org/goodfishguide/species/european-anchovy/?search=ancho

Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchovy