Whitebait
Whitebait - Scientific name (European Sprat)- Cancer pagurus
Conservation status
Whitebait is the collective term used for very small young fish that are fried for eating. They are eaten whole, including head and bones. The fish used vary according to region. In the UK young sprats or young herrings are most commonly used.
The MCS mention Sprat as having variable sustainability with No Best Choice options in their ratings. They recommend avoiding the North Sea, Skagerrak and Kattegat as stocks are severely depleted. However the English Channel and Baltic Sea are OK but Need Improvement.
They state: ‘the sprat population in the English Channel is healthy and fishing pressure is within sustainable limits. Most catches are by mid-water trawlers, with low or no bycatch and no impact on the seabed’
The IUCN list the European Sprat as Least Concern with no indication of decline over the past 10 years. However, catches in Norway have fluctuated.
See separate section for Herring.
Overview
Sprat are small oily, silvery scaled fish. They are typically around 12cms long and live for about 6 years. Sprat are very active fish continually swimming in large schools throughout the day.
Sprat are competitive with Herrings eating only zooplankton essential for their survival. Herrings are less selective and adapt their diet as they grow older.
Both fish are preyed upon by cod, salmon and haddock, as well as larger birds and sea animals/fish such as sharks, seals, dolphins. and sea birds.
Whitebait as a source of food can be traced back to 1612 in the UK. In the late 18th century it was fashionable to eat Whitebait and it was considered a fish in its own right. However in 1903, Dr.James Muries’ report on ‘the sea fisheries and fishing in the Thames Estuary’ identified 31 different species being sold as whitebait including the fry of eel, plaice, whiting, herring sprat, bass, shrimp, crab and jellyfish!
Source
Wikipaedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitebait
Marine Conservation Society – https://www.mcsuk.org/goodfishguide/species/sprat/
IUCN - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/198583/45077260