The World Ocean is an almost inexhaustible breadbasket of all kinds of resources, and one of the most important is fish. Some species are of such great commercial importance that their catch and export is a significant budget item. These include anchovies. What it is?
Under this brand name several species are hiding at once. These include hamsa (Engraulis encrasicolis), Japanese anchovy (E. Japonicus), as well as Peruvian, Argentinean and other species.
In past years, their catch reached such volumes that many of them were on the verge of extinction. The most stringent standards have been introduced to date, but still some states do not pay any attention to them. But these measures have yielded positive results: for example, the Peruvian anchovies (what it is, we have already said) have almost completely restored their original numbers. By the way, this particular species is exported to our country for the most part, and therefore you can not worry about your assistance in the extermination of rare fish.
Currently, the Peruvian anchovy is perhaps the most popular species in the ocean. Only official catch volumes are approximately 8 million tons per year. All this amount is mined in a small coastal strip 550 km long and 55 km wide. The fact is that powerful ocean currents pass in this zone, which bring tons of phytoplankton to the shores. It is eaten by the Peruvian anchovies (what is it, we told you). Such an affordable diet explains the huge number of these fish. Eating such an affordable type of food, they use the resources of the food base as efficiently as possible.
By themselves, they are flocking species, mainly living in the surface layers of water. For a couple of years, each individual grows to 15 cm, reaching a mass of about 20 g. They live up to four years.
The same Black Sea anchovy is the most important food element for many species, being the basis of their diet. Like its Peruvian “colleague”, this species is the most common in its biotope. In the summer, fish stay on a warm surface. In winter, they go to a depth of about 80 meters. In the spring, they rise again, begin to intensely fat, and then go to spawn.
In length, they rarely grow more than 11 cm. In the recent past, this species in our country was not commercial, and therefore formed giant clusters. Often, so many Black Sea anchovies entered the Balaklava Bay that most of the fish simply died, and its smell poisoned the life of the townspeople.
Catch them with purse seines and trawl. In addition to the Peruvian, huge quantities of European anchovy are mined. Domestic sailors catch many anchovies in the Black Sea and the Far East, and their Japanese colleagues strive to keep up, constantly increasing the volume of catch in their waters.
They come to consumers both in salted and dried form (the so-called beer snacks), and in the form of canned food in oil. By the way, such a popular Norwegian herring loves anchovies very much (you already know what it is). So, it owes much to this little fish for its fat content and amazing taste.
So you found out what anchovies are. Photos of fish are in the article, so it will be difficult to make a mistake in the store.
