More than 140 species of small, silvery-green schooling fish of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea; a few live in South American rivers. They filter plankton as they swim and are food for many seabirds, fish and people.
Quick answers
What is it?Fish
Carnivore?Yes
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Day & night
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?Yes
Eaten salted, canned or fried, and used in sauces; Peru's anchovy fishery is one of the largest in the world.
At a glance
Found inOceans
HabitatOpen ocean, Coast
ColoursSilver, Blue
SizeTiny
Length2–40 cm (adults)
LegsNone
Covered inScales
Lives ingroups
Lives for3–5 years
Can swim
Lays eggs
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Scattered through the world's oceans, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, mostly in temperate waters; rare or absent in very cold or very warm seas.
- What it eats
- Plankton and recently hatched fish, filtered from the water as it swims with its mouth open.
Did you know
Worcestershire sauce and Caesar dressing both get their savoury kick from it.
In Roman times anchovies were fermented into garum, a fish sauce traded over long distances.
Peru's anchovy fishery collapsed in 1972 from overfishing and El Niño.
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