European pilchard (Sardina pilchardus)

Scientific name: Sardina pilchardus Walbaum, 1792

European pilchard (Sardina pilchardus)

The European pilchard (Sardina pilchardus) is a freshwater fish of the family Clupeidae.

Biology

Littoral species. Form schools, usually at depths of 25 to 55 or even 100 m by day, rising to 10 to 35 m at night. Feed mainly on planktonic crustaceans, also on larger organisms. Spawn in batches, in the open sea or near the coast, producing 50,000-60,000 eggs with a mean diameter of 1.5 mm. Marketed fresh, frozen or canned. Also utilized dried or salted and smoked; can be pan-fried, broiled and microwaved.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Sardina pilchardus
Family
Clupeidae (Herrings, shads and sardines)
Order
Clupeiformes (Herrings)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
27.5
Common length
20.0
Depth range
10–100 m (33–328 ft)
Environment
Marine; freshwater; brackish; pelagic-neritic; oceanodromous; depth range 10 - 100 m, usually 25 - 100 m
Climate
Subtropical
Distribution
Northeast Atlantic: Iceland (rare) and North Sea, southward to Bay de Gor?e, Senegal. Mediterranean (common in the western part and in Adriatic Sea, rare in the eastern part), Sea of Marmara and Black Sea.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: highly commercial
Resilience
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.23-0.5; tm=1-2; tmax=15)

Sources

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

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