Warm fish salad

This article is about the fish. Warm fish salad the town in Jamaica, see Anchovy, Jamaica.

For the food, see Anchovies as food. An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, and in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Anchovies are usually classified as oily fish.

Type genus, containing all commercially significant species. The snout is blunt with tiny, sharp teeth in both jaws. The snout contains a unique rostral organ, believed to be electro-sensory in nature, although its exact function is unknown. 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. The European anchovy is abundant in the Mediterranean, particularly in the Alboran Sea, Aegean Sea and the Black Sea. As water passes through the mouth and out the gills, food particles are sieved by gill rakers and transferred into the esophagus. 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. The Peruvian anchovy fishery is one of the largest in the world, far exceeding catches of the other anchovy species. In 1973 it collapsed catastrophically due to the combined effects of overfishing and El Niño and did not recover fully for two decades.

A traditional method of processing and preserving anchovies is to gut and salt them in brine, allow them to cure, and then pack them in oil or salt. This results in a characteristic strong flavor and the flesh turning a deep grey. Today, they are used in small quantities to flavor many dishes. 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. In Sweden and Finland, the name anchovies is related strongly to a traditional seasoning, hence the product “anchovies” is normally made of sprats and herring can be sold as “anchovy-spiced”. In Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, they are deep-fried and eaten as a snack or a side dish. They are known as Ikan Bilis in Malay, Ikan Teri in Indonesian and Dilis in Filipino. Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. The Rostal Organ of Latimeria chalumnae: Morphological Evidence of an Electroreceptive Function”.

National Council for Science and the Environment. Pelican reproductive rate  depends largely on levels of anchovy abundance and availability. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Middle East Technical University Institute of Marine Sciences.