Anchovy

Anchovies
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Clupeiformes
Family:	Engraulidae
Genera
See text
Global commercial capture of anchovy in million tonnes 1950–2010[1]

An anchovy is a small, common salt-water forage fish of the family Engraulidae.

The 144 species are placed in 17 genera; they are found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, and in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Anchovies are usually classified as oily fish.^[2]

Genera

Characteristics

European anchovy, Engraulis encrasicolus

Anchovies are small, green fish with blue reflections due to a silver-colored longitudinal stripe that runs from the base of the caudal fin. They range from 2 to 40 cm (0.79 to 15.75 in) in adult length,^[3] and their body shapes are variable with more slender fish in northern populations.

The snout is blunt with tiny, sharp teeth in both jaws. The snout contains a unique rostral organ, believed to be sensory in nature, although its exact function is unknown.^[4] The mouth is larger than that of herrings and silversides, two fish which anchovies closely resemble in other respects. The anchovy eats plankton and recently hatched fish.

Distribution

Anchovies are found in scattered areas throughout the world's oceans, but are concentrated in temperate waters, and are rare or absent in very cold or very warm seas. They are generally very accepting of a wide range of temperatures and salinity. Large schools can be found in shallow, brackish areas with muddy bottoms, as in estuaries and bays. They are abundant in the Mediterranean, particularly in the Alboran Sea,^[5] Aegean Sea and the Black Sea. The species is regularly caught along the coasts of Crete, Greece, Sicily, Italy, France, Turkey, and Spain. They are also found on the coast of northern Africa. The range of the species also extends along the Atlantic coast of Europe to the south of Norway. Spawning occurs between October and March, but not in water colder than 12 °C (54 °F). The anchovy appears to spawn at least 100 km (62 mi) from the shore, near the surface of the water.

Ecology

The anchovy is a significant food source for almost every predatory fish in its environment, including the California halibut, rock fish, yellowtail, shark, chinook, and coho salmon. It is also extremely important to marine mammals and birds; for example, breeding success of California brown pelicans^[6] and elegant terns is strongly connected to anchovy abundance.

Feeding behavior

Anchovies, like most clupeoids (herrings, sardines and anchovies), 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.^[7]

Commercial species

This article is one of a series on
Commercial fish
Large pelagic
billfish, bonito mackerel, salmon shark, tuna
Forage
anchovy, herring menhaden, sardine shad, sprat
Demersal
cod, eel, flatfish pollock, ray
Mixed
carp, tilapia

Commercially significant species
Common name	Scientific name	Maximum length	Common length	Maximum weight	Maximum age	Trophic level	Fish Base	FAO	ITIS	IUCN status
European anchovy*	Engraulis encrasicolus (Linnaeus, 1758)	20.0 cm (7.9 in)	13.5 cm (5.3 in)	kg	5 years	3.11	[8]	[9]	[10]	Not assessed
Argentine anchoita	Engraulis anchoita (Hubbs & Marini, 1935)	17.0 cm (6.7 in)	cm	0.025 kg (0.88 oz)	years	2.51	[11]	[12]	[13]	Not assessed
Californian anchovy	Engraulis mordax (Girard, 1856)	24.8 cm (9.8 in)	15.0 cm (5.9 in)	0.068 kg (2.4 oz)	years	2.96	[14]	[15]	[16]	Least concern[17]
Japanese anchovy	Engraulis japonicus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846)	18.0 cm (7.1 in)	14.0 cm (5.5 in)	0.045 kg (1.6 oz)	4 years	2.60	[18]	[19]	[20]	Not assessed
Peruvian anchoveta	Engraulis ringens (Jenyns, 1842)	20.0 cm (7.9 in)	14.0 cm (5.5 in)	kg	3 years	2.70	[21]	[22]	[23]	Least concern[24]
Southern African anchovy	Engraulis capensis (Gilchrist, 1913)	17.0 cm (6.7 in)	cm	kg	years	2.80	[25]	[26]	[27]	Not assessed

* Type species

Fisheries

Global capture of anchovy in tonnes reported by the FAO

Capture of all anchovy reported by the FAO (green indicates Peruvian anchoveta)^[1]

↑  Peruvian anchoveta 1950–2010 ^[1]

↑  Other anchovy 1950–2010 ^[1]

Black Sea

On average, the Turkish commercial fishing fleet catches around 300,000 tons per year, mainly in winter. The largest catch is in November and December.^[28]

Peru

The Peruvian anchovy fishery is one of the largest in the world.

In 1973 it collapsed catastrophically due to the combined effects of overfishing and El Niño^[29] and did not recover fully for two decades.

As food

Still Life with Anchovies, 1972, Antonio Sicurezza

A traditional method of processing and preserving anchovies is to gut and salt them in brine, allow them to mature, and then pack them in oil or salt. This results in a characteristic strong flavor and the flesh turns deep grey. Pickled in vinegar, as with Spanish boquerones, anchovies are milder and the flesh retains a white color. In Roman times, anchovies were the base for the fermented fish sauce garum. Garum had a sufficiently long shelf life for long-distance commerce, and was produced in industrial quantities. Anchovies were also eaten raw as an aphrodisiac.^[30] Today, they are used in small quantities to flavor many dishes. Because of the strong flavor, they are also an ingredient in several sauces and condiments, including Worcestershire sauce, Caesar salad dressing, remoulade, Gentleman's Relish, many fish sauces, and in some versions of Café de Paris butter. For domestic use, anchovy fillets are packed in oil or salt in small tins or jars, sometimes rolled around capers. Anchovy paste is also available. Fishermen also use anchovies as bait for larger fish, such as tuna and sea bass.

The strong taste people associate with anchovies is due to the curing process. Fresh anchovies, known in Italy as alici, have a much milder flavor.^[31] In Sweden and Finland, the name anchovies is related strongly to a traditional seasoning, hence the product "anchovies" is normally made of sprats^[32] and herring can be sold as "anchovy-spiced". Fish from the Engraulidae family are instead known as sardell in Sweden and sardelli in Finland, leading to confusion when translating recipes.

See also

• Sardine
• Stable ocean hypothesis

References

Further reading

• Chavez FP, Ryan J, Lluch-Cota SE and Ñiquen CM (2003) From Anchovies to Sardines and Back: Multidecadal Change in the Pacific Ocean Science 229(5604)217–221.
• Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Engraulidae" in FishBase. January 2006 version.
• Miller DJ (1956) "Anchovy" CalCOFI Reports, 5: 20–26.
• Nizinski MS and Munroe TA (1988) FAO species catalogue, volume 2: Clupeoid Fishes of the World, Engraulidae, Anchovies Pages 764–780, FAO Fisheries Synopsis 125, Rome. ISBN 92-5-102340-9.
• Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission Northern Anchovy

External links

Look up anchovy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Media related to Anchovy dishes at Wikimedia Commons
• Fisheries Ebb and Flow in 50-Year Cycle National Geographic News (2003).
•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Anchovy". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

Anchovies (Engraulidae)
Genera	Amazonsprattus Anchoa Anchovia Anchoviella Cetengraulis Coilia Encrasicholina Engraulis Jurengraulis Lycengraulis Lycothrissa Papuengraulis Pseudosetipinna Pterengraulis Setipinna Stolephorus Thryssa
Main commercial species	European anchovy Argentine anchoita Californian anchovy Japanese anchovy Peruvian anchoveta Southern African anchovy Rainbow sardine
Other species	Freshwater anchovy
As food	Anchovy (food) Anchovy essence Bagna càuda Bagnun Buntil Fish sauce Garum Gentleman's Relish Janchi guksu Myeolchijeot Phu quoc fish sauce Pissaladière Pissalat Scotch woodcock Sujebi Rempeyek Worcestershire sauce Whitebait
Related topics	Anchoveta Estropadak Humboldt Current Rostral organ

Principal commercial fishery species groups
Wild	Large pelagic fish Mackerel Salmon Saury Shark Swordfish Tuna albacore bigeye Atlantic bluefin Pacific bluefin southern bluefin skipjack yellowfin Forage fish Anchovy Capelin Herring Ilish Menhaden Sardines Shad Sprat european Demersal fish Catfish Cod Atlantic Pacific Alaska pollock Flatfish flounder halibut plaice sole turbot Haddock Mullet Orange roughy Pollock Rockfish Smelt-whitings Toothfish Freshwater fish Carp Sturgeon Tilapia Trout Other wild fish Eel Whitebait more... Crustaceans Crab Krill Lobster Shrimp more... Molluscs Abalone Mussels Octopus Oysters Scallops Squid more... Echinoderms Sea cucumbers Sea urchin more...
Farmed	Carp bighead common crucian grass silver Catfish Freshwater prawns Gilt-head bream Mussels Oysters Salmon Atlantic salmon trout coho chinook Scallops Seaweed Shrimp Tilapia
Commercial fishing World fish production Commercial species Fishing topics Fisheries glossary