Difference between revisions of "Anchovy" - New World Encyclopedia

From New World Encyclopedia
Line 34: Line 34:
 
==Biology==
 
==Biology==
 
[[Image:Anchovies-monterey.jpg|thumb|left|Anchovies at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.]]
 
[[Image:Anchovies-monterey.jpg|thumb|left|Anchovies at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.]]
The anchovy is a small green fish with blue reflections due to a silver [[longitudinal]] stripe that runs from the base of the [[caudal fin]].  It is maximum nine [[inch]]es in length and body shape is variable with more slender fish in northern populations.  The snout is blunt with small, sharp teeth in both jaws.  The mouth is larger than those of [[herring]]s and [[Silverside (fish)|silversides]], two fish which they closely resemble.  It eats plankton and fish larvae. The pointed snout extends beyond the lower jaw. The fish resembles a sprat in having a forked tail and a single dorsal fin, but the body is round and slender.
+
The anchovy is a small green fish with blue reflections due to a silver [[longitudinal]] stripe that runs from the base of the [[caudal fin]].  It is a maximum nine [[inch]]es in length. Its body shape is variable with more slender fish in northern populations.  The snout is blunt with small, sharp teeth in both jaws.  The mouth is larger than those of [[herring]]s and [[Silverside (fish)|silversides]], two fish which they closely resemble.  The fish resembles a sprat in having a forked tail and a single dorsal fin, but the body is round and slender. Its main food sources are plankton and fish larvae.
  
 
+
==Habitat==
It is 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.
+
Anchovies 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, and are regularly caught on the coasts of Sicily, Italy, France and Spain. The range of the species also extends along the Atlantic coast of Europe to the south of Norway. Most of the more than 100 species live in shallow tropical or warm temperate seas, where they often enter brackish water around river mouths. A few tropical anchovies inhabit freshwater. (BRITT)
  
 
Spawning occurs between October and March, but not in water colder than 12 °[[Celsius|C]].  The anchovy appears to spawn 100 [[kilometer]]s from the shore, near the surface of the water.
 
Spawning occurs between October and March, but not in water colder than 12 °[[Celsius|C]].  The anchovy appears to spawn 100 [[kilometer]]s from the shore, near the surface of the water.
 
==Habitat==
 
Anchovies are abundant in the Mediterranean, and are regularly caught on the coasts of Sicily, Italy, France and Spain. The range of the species also extends along the Atlantic coast of Europe to the south of Norway. Most of the more than 100 species live in shallow tropical or warm temperate seas, where they often enter brackish water around river mouths. A few tropical anchovies inhabit freshwater. (BRITT)
 
  
 
==As a food source==
 
==As a food source==
Line 60: Line 57:
 
==Fishing==
 
==Fishing==
 
[[Overfishing]] of anchovies has been a problem. Since the [[1980s]], large mechanized anchovy fishing [[vessels]] based in [[France]] have caught the fish in fine-mesh [[seine (fishing)|dragnet]]s.
 
[[Overfishing]] of anchovies has been a problem. Since the [[1980s]], large mechanized anchovy fishing [[vessels]] based in [[France]] have caught the fish in fine-mesh [[seine (fishing)|dragnet]]s.
 +
 +
'''Zuider Zee and English Channel'''
 +
Formerly they were caught in large numbers off the coast of the Netherlands in summer when they entered the Wadden Sea and Zuider Zee. After the closing of the Zuider Zee they were still found in the Wadden Sea until the 1960s. They were also caught in the estuary of the Scheldt.
 +
 +
There is reason to believe that the anchovies found at the western end of the English Channel in November and December are those which annually migrated from the Zuider Zee and Scheldt in autumn, returning thither in the following spring; they were assumed to form an isolated stock, for none come up from the south in summer to occupy the English Channel, though the species is resident on the coast of Portugal.
 +
 +
The explanation appears to be that the shallow and landlocked waters of the Zuider Zee, as well as the sea on the Dutch coast, become raised to a higher temperature in summer than any part of the sea about the British coasts, and that therefore anchovies were able to spawn and maintain their numbers in these waters.
 +
 +
Their reproduction and development were first described by a Dutch naturalist from observations made on the shores of the Zuider Zee. Spawning takes place in June and July, and the eggs, like those of the majority of marine fishes, are buoyant and transparent, but they are peculiar in having an elongated, sausage-like shape, instead of being globular. They resemble those of the sprat and pilchard in having a segmented yolk and there is no oil globule.
 +
 +
The larva hatch two or three days after the fertilization of the egg, and are minute and transparent. In August young specimens 1½ to 3½ in (40 to 90 mm) in length have been taken in the Zuider Zee, and these must derived from the spawning of the previous summer.
 +
 +
There is no evidence to decide the question whether all the young anchovies as well as the adults leave the Zuider Zee in autumn, but, considering the winter temperature there, it is probable that they do. The eggs have also been obtained from the Bay of Naples, and near Marseilles, also off the coast of Holland, and once at least off the coast of Lancashire.
 +
 +
The occurrence of anchovies in the English Channel has been carefully studied at the laboratory of the Marine Biological Association at Plymouth. They were most abundant in 1889 and 1890. In the former year considerable numbers were taken off Dover in drift nets of small mesh used for the capture of sprats. In the following December large numbers were taken together with sprats at Torquay. In November 1890 a thousand of the fish were obtained in two days from the pilchard boats fishing near Plymouth; these were caught near the Eddystone.
 +
 +
 +
'''Black and Azov seas'''
 +
In areas around Black sea the European ahnchovy is called hamsi in Turkish, хамсия (hamsiya) in Bulgarian, and хамса (hamsa) in Russian. Black sea adult anchovy can reach length of around 12-15 cm. In the summer hamsiya migrates north in the shallow coast waters, while in the winter it moves to the depth. During migration the fish moves in huge swarms, where gulls and dolphins are actively chasing it. A variety of hamsa is feeding and breeding during the summer in the Azov sea, and moves to Black sea for the winter passing the Strait of Kerch.
 +
 +
Hamsiya makes considerable part of fishing and fish processing industries, either canned or frozen. In Bulgaria it is traditionally fried and served in cheap fast-food restaurants along the shore, typically with beer. Since 1990s the dominant position of fried hamsiya is reduced but it is still quite popular.
  
 
==Spain beaching incident==
 
==Spain beaching incident==

Revision as of 15:08, 29 March 2007

Anchovies
Anchovy closeup.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Clupeiformes
Family: Engraulidae
Genera

Amazonsprattus
Anchoa
Anchovia
Anchiovella
Cetengraulis
Coilia
Encrasicholina
Engraulis
Jurengraulis
Lycengraulis
Lycothrissa
Papuengraulis
Pterengraulis
Setipinna
Stolephorus
Thryssa

The anchovies are a family (Engraulidae) of small but common schooling saltwater plankton-feeding fish. They 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. The European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus), somewhat related to the herring and is the fish of commerce.

Biology

Anchovies at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

The anchovy is a small green fish with blue reflections due to a silver longitudinal stripe that runs from the base of the caudal fin. It is a maximum nine inches in length. Its body shape is variable with more slender fish in northern populations. The snout is blunt with small, sharp teeth in both jaws. The mouth is larger than those of herrings and silversides, two fish which they closely resemble. The fish resembles a sprat in having a forked tail and a single dorsal fin, but the body is round and slender. Its main food sources are plankton and fish larvae.

Habitat

Anchovies 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, and are regularly caught on the coasts of Sicily, Italy, France and Spain. The range of the species also extends along the Atlantic coast of Europe to the south of Norway. Most of the more than 100 species live in shallow tropical or warm temperate seas, where they often enter brackish water around river mouths. A few tropical anchovies inhabit freshwater. (BRITT)

Spawning occurs between October and March, but not in water colder than 12 °C. The anchovy appears to spawn 100 kilometers from the shore, near the surface of the water.

As a food source

The anchovy is a good food source for almost every predatory fish in its environment, including the California halibut, rock fish, yellowtail, sharks, chinook, and coho salmon. It is also extremely important to marine mammals and birds; for example, California brown pelicans and elegant terns, whose breeding success is strongly connected to anchovy abundance. As time progresses and the anchovy population drops, the population of the predatory species are also expected to decline.

They are also eaten by humans. Anchovies preserved by gutting and salting in brine, matured, then packed in oil, are an important food fish, both popular and infamous for their strong flavor. In Roman times, they were the base for the fermented fish sauce called garum that was a staple of cuisine and an item of long-distance commerce produced in industrial quantities. Today they are a key ingredient in Caesar salad and Spaghetti alla Puttanesca, and are often used as a pizza topping. Because of the strong flavor they are also an ingredient in several sauces, including Worcestershire sauce and many fish sauces, and in some versions of Café de Paris butter. They are most commonly marketed in small tins, either as "flat" fillets, or as "rolled anchovies" where each fillet is rolled around a caper. While both are quite salty, the flat fillets tend to be more so. They are also marketed in jars and tubes as a paste, mostly for use in making sauces, such as anchovy essence. Fishermen also use anchovies as bait for larger fish such as tuna and sea bass.

The strong taste that people associate with anchovies is due to the curing process. Fresh anchovies, known in Italy as alici, have a much softer and gentler flavor. In English-speaking countries, alici are sometimes called "white anchovies", and are often served in a weak vinegar marinade. This particular preservation method is associated with the coastal town of Coullouire in south east France. The white fillets (a little like marinated herrings) are sold in heavy salt, or the more popular garlic or tomato oil and vinegar marinade packs.

The European anchovy, Engraulis encrasicolus, is the anchovy of commerce. Morocco now leads the world in canned anchovies. The anchovy industry along the coast of Cantabria now dwarfs the traditional Catalan salters, though the industry was only initiated in Cantabria by Sicilian salters in the mid 19th century.

Setipinna taty or ikan bilis is the anchovy commonly used in South-East Asian cooking to make fish stock or sambals. Anchovy is also used to produce budu, by fermentation process.

Anchovies can concentrate domoic acid which causes amnesic shellfish poisoning.

Fishing

Overfishing of anchovies has been a problem. Since the 1980s, large mechanized anchovy fishing vessels based in France have caught the fish in fine-mesh dragnets.

Zuider Zee and English Channel Formerly they were caught in large numbers off the coast of the Netherlands in summer when they entered the Wadden Sea and Zuider Zee. After the closing of the Zuider Zee they were still found in the Wadden Sea until the 1960s. They were also caught in the estuary of the Scheldt.

There is reason to believe that the anchovies found at the western end of the English Channel in November and December are those which annually migrated from the Zuider Zee and Scheldt in autumn, returning thither in the following spring; they were assumed to form an isolated stock, for none come up from the south in summer to occupy the English Channel, though the species is resident on the coast of Portugal.

The explanation appears to be that the shallow and landlocked waters of the Zuider Zee, as well as the sea on the Dutch coast, become raised to a higher temperature in summer than any part of the sea about the British coasts, and that therefore anchovies were able to spawn and maintain their numbers in these waters.

Their reproduction and development were first described by a Dutch naturalist from observations made on the shores of the Zuider Zee. Spawning takes place in June and July, and the eggs, like those of the majority of marine fishes, are buoyant and transparent, but they are peculiar in having an elongated, sausage-like shape, instead of being globular. They resemble those of the sprat and pilchard in having a segmented yolk and there is no oil globule.

The larva hatch two or three days after the fertilization of the egg, and are minute and transparent. In August young specimens 1½ to 3½ in (40 to 90 mm) in length have been taken in the Zuider Zee, and these must derived from the spawning of the previous summer.

There is no evidence to decide the question whether all the young anchovies as well as the adults leave the Zuider Zee in autumn, but, considering the winter temperature there, it is probable that they do. The eggs have also been obtained from the Bay of Naples, and near Marseilles, also off the coast of Holland, and once at least off the coast of Lancashire.

The occurrence of anchovies in the English Channel has been carefully studied at the laboratory of the Marine Biological Association at Plymouth. They were most abundant in 1889 and 1890. In the former year considerable numbers were taken off Dover in drift nets of small mesh used for the capture of sprats. In the following December large numbers were taken together with sprats at Torquay. In November 1890 a thousand of the fish were obtained in two days from the pilchard boats fishing near Plymouth; these were caught near the Eddystone.


Black and Azov seas In areas around Black sea the European ahnchovy is called hamsi in Turkish, хамсия (hamsiya) in Bulgarian, and хамса (hamsa) in Russian. Black sea adult anchovy can reach length of around 12-15 cm. In the summer hamsiya migrates north in the shallow coast waters, while in the winter it moves to the depth. During migration the fish moves in huge swarms, where gulls and dolphins are actively chasing it. A variety of hamsa is feeding and breeding during the summer in the Azov sea, and moves to Black sea for the winter passing the Strait of Kerch.

Hamsiya makes considerable part of fishing and fish processing industries, either canned or frozen. In Bulgaria it is traditionally fried and served in cheap fast-food restaurants along the shore, typically with beer. Since 1990s the dominant position of fried hamsiya is reduced but it is still quite popular.

Spain beaching incident

On September 29th, 2006, it was reported in the Associated Press that millions of anchovies, constituting a weight of over three tons, had beached themselves in northern Spain, near Colunga, Asturias. Tests on the dead fish did not detect any toxic chemical that could have caused the beaching, and the current working theory is that the school beached itself trying to escape from "hungry dolphins or tuna." If the beached specimens had grown to maturity, it would have been more than "100 tons of potential breeders."

Trivia

  • In the cartoon series Futurama in which the one of the characters, Fry was transported into the future and was told that there was only one can of his favourite pizza topping, the anchovy, left. Like many other animals and plants in the futuristic show the anchovy is extinct.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.