European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus)

Scientific name: Engraulis encrasicolus Linnaeus, 1758

European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus)

The European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) is a brackish-water fish of the family Engraulidae.

Biology

Mainly a coastal marine species, forming large schools. Tolerates salinities of 5-41 ppt and in some areas, enters lagoons, estuaries and lakes, especially during spawning. Tends to move further north and into surface waters in summer, retreating and descending in winter. Feeds on planktonic organisms. Spawns from April to November with peaks usually in the warmest months. Eggs are ellipsoidal to oval, floating in the upper 50 m and hatching in 24-65 hours. Marketed fresh, dried, smoked, canned and frozen; made into fish meal.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Engraulis encrasicolus
Family
Engraulidae (Anchovies)
Order
Clupeiformes (Herrings)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
20.0
Common length
13.5
Depth range
0–400 m (0–1312 ft)
Environment
Marine; brackish; pelagic-neritic; oceanodromous; depth range 0 - 400 m
Climate
Subtropical
Distribution
Eastern Atlantic: Bergen, Norway to East London, South Africa (perhaps reaching Durban). Also all of Mediterranean, Black and Azov seas, with stray individuals in Suez Canal and Gulf of Suez; also recorded from St. Helena. Reported from Estonia.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: highly commercial; bait: usually
Resilience
High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.21-1.2; tm=1; tmax=4)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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