Anchoveta
Engraulis ringens
FAMILY
Engraulidae
TAXONOMY
Engraulis ringens Jenyns, 1842, Iquique, Chile.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Anchovy, Peruvian anchoveta; French: Anchois du pérou, anchois péruvien; German: Perusardelle, Südamerikanische Sardelle; Spanish: Anchoa, anchoa bocona, anchoveta, anchoveta peruana, atunera, chicora, manchuma, manchumilla, peladilla, sardina bocona.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Grows to 7 in (18 cm) and has a slender, elongated body that is round in cross section. Its large snout and mouth are similar to those of other anchovies. Silvery in color; juveniles have a stripe along the flank.
DISTRIBUTION
West coast of South America along the Peru Current, typically from around Aguja Point, Peru, south to Chiloë, Chile.
HABITAT
Pelagic species. Occurs in surface waters, usually within 49 mi (80 km) of the shore, but occasionally offshore to 99 mi(160 km).
BEHAVIOR
Forms huge schools. Descends to deeper waters during the day but rises to the surface at night.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Filter feeder. Depends entirely on the plankton of the Peru Current for food. Diet consists largely of diatoms, which make up as much as 98% of its consumption according to some studies. It also consumes copepods, euphausids, fish eggs, and dinoflagellates. Seabirds prey heavily on schools of anchoveta.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Matures at around one year of age. Breeds throughout the year, but two peaks of spawning occur in late winter and early autumn. Their buoyant ellipsoidal eggs are broadcast into the water column and fertilized.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not listed by the IUCN, but populations vary greatly with climatic conditions. El Niño, the oceanographic condition that results in warmer water in the Pacific Ocean, slows and may stop the upwelling of nutrient rich waters in the Peru Current. This can have devastating effects on the anchoveta by dramatically reducing its planktonic food base.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Previously the world's largest fishery in terms of biomass in 1971, with over 13 million tons (11.7 million tonnes) harvested. Populations declined during the 1970s and 1980s due to overfishing and the occurrence of severe El Niño events in 1972–1973 and 1982–1983. Since that time, anchoveta populations have recovered and the species again constitutes a major fishery. In 2000 the anchoveta comprised over 12 million tons (11 million tonnes) of a total harvest in the southeastern Pacific of around 16.5 million tons (15 million tonnes) for all fishes. Peru and Chile rely upon this fishery as a major export and source of income. It is utilized primarily as fish meal and oil.
