Anchovy

Anchovy, the genus Engraulis, belonging to the herring family with forty-three species, from temperate and tropical seas. The common anchovy (E. encrasicholus) is a Mediterranean fish, rarely wandering northwards, from four to six inches long, with the upper jaw projecting beyond the lower, short anal fin, and the tail deeply forked; greenish-blue above, silvery white below. The anchovy fisheries of the Mediterranean are of considerable importance; the fish are taken at night when they approach the shore to spawn, cleansed, salted, and packed in barrels for exportation. Dr. Gunther says that "lucrative fisheries might be established in Tasmania, where this species occurs, and Chile, China, Japan, and California possess anchovies by no means inferior to the Mediterranean species."