Engraulis mordax
FAMILY
Engraulidae
TAXONOMY
Engraulis mordax Girard, 1854, San Francisco, California, United States.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Anchovy, Californian anchovy, North Pacific anchovy, pinhead; French: Anchois de California, anchois du nord, anchois du Pacifique, anchois du Pacifique nord; German: Amerikanische Nordpazifische, Amerikanische Sardelle; Spanish: Anchoa de California, anchoa del Pacifico, anchoveta, anchoveta de California, anchoveta norteña.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Grows to 4 in (10 cm). Body slender and elongate but round in cross section. Back is green and sides are silvery, including a stripe along the flank in young individuals. Large head and mouth with a pointed snout.
DISTRIBUTION
Northern Pacific from Vancouver Island, Canada, to Baja California, Mexico.
HABITAT
Pelagic marine species found to depths of 984 ft (300 m). Usually stays in coastal waters within 18.6 mi (30 km) of shore but may range as far as 298 mi (480 km) offshore. Enters estuaries, bays, and inlets during the spring and summer.
BEHAVIOR
Forms schools during most of the year, although these become smaller or break up in late spring, typically around the end of spawning in April or May. Moves to inshore waters during spring and summer and migrates offshore in the fall and winter. Diel migrations also occur, with the northern anchovy remaining at depths during the day and approaching the surface in low-density schools at night.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Obtains food both by filter feeding and particulate biting. Feeds on plankton, primarily euphausids, copepods, and decapod larvae. Northern anchovies are an important forage species for other fishes, birds, and marine mammals.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Spawns in inlets and offshore, with spawning activity occurring at night. Two major spawning areas exist in coastal waters off southern California and Baja California, Mexico. Eggs are broadcast and fertilized in the water column, then float and incubate for two to four days before hatching. Spawning takes place throughout the year, and individual females may spawn several times each year. However, as a whole, the species exhibits a clear peak in spawning during the winter and early spring.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not listed by the IUCN.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Supports a commercial and bait fishery, which developed after the collapse of the Pacific sardine fishery in the 1940s. Approximately 25 million pounds were landed in 2000, with most used for fish meal, fertilizer, and animal feed. A small portion is consumed by humans in pickled or salted forms.
