| Engraulidae (Anchovies), subfamily: Engraulinae |
| 15 cm SL (male/unsexed); max. reported age: 6 years |
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pelagic-neritic; brackish; marine; depth range 31 - 70 m |
| Southwest Pacific: Australia (from Queensland at about Cape Capricorn south to southern Tasmania; entire southern coast of Australia, except for Great Australian Bight, and north to Shark Bay, Western Australia), including Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island; and New Zealand (most of the North Island and all but the southeast coast of the South Island). |
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Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13-18; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 17-19; Vertebrae: 40-48. Hardly differs from the European anchovy (E. encrasicolus) and can be identified from that description. For most of its range it is the only anchovy present, but in the extreme north it may overlap with species of Encrasicholina or Stolephorus, which have small needle-like scutes before the pelvic fins; species of Thryssa have compressed bodies and a keel of scutes along the belly. |
| Found mostly inshore: chiefly in bays, inlets and estuaries, sometimes in low salinities. Older individuals tend to move out to sea in winter and back in the spring. Forms compact schools much preyed upon by larger fishes, common dolphins and birds. Feeds on plankton. Spawns in inlets, bays and also estuaries, probably throughout the year but mainly in late spring to early autumn and especially about November to February. The eggs are ellipsoidal. Utilized as fish paste. |
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Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 18 July 2018 Ref. (130435)
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| harmless |
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Known from Heron Is., Qld. To Shark Bay, Western Australia, including New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and Lord Howe Is. (Ref. 7300). Based on vertebral counts (Ref. 26499), there are at least three different breeding populations of anchovy in Australia. They are found in Queensland and New South Wales north of Twofold Bay; southern New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia; and Western Australia (Ref. 6390).
Commercial fishery: Since about 1910 anchovy have been caught for bait in Port Phillip Bay (Ref. 26499), mainly using hoop nets (Ref. 188). Catches increased in the 1950s with the popularity of haul seine and purse seine nets and the establishment of fish paste processing plants nearby. Purse seine catches of anchovy in Bass Strait waters grew substantially in the late 1960s following the establishment of a processing plant at Lakes Entrance, but declined in the late 1970s and early 1980s and ceased following the closure of the plant in 1985.
Anchovy are now caught commercially in New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia. In New South Wales they are fished from Tweed Heads to Ballina, Sydney Harbour and Jervis Bay. In Victoria, they are taken from bays, inlets and coastal waters between Lakes Entrance and Marlo (Ref. 26500), in the Gippsland Lakes, Port Phillip Bay and Bass Strait. Most fishing effort centers on Port Phillip Bay (Ref. 26431). In Western Australia, there are small fisheries at Wilson Inlet and Fremantle. Anchovy are also harvested occasionally in inshore Tasmanian waters by tuna and rock lobster fishers for use as live bait.
Anchovy are caught primarily by purse seining in Port Phillip Bay, Bass Strait and off Fremantle. Haul seines are used in the Gippsland Lakes and at Wilson Inlet. Haul seines and hoop nets are also used in Port Phillip Bay. Anchovy can be fished all year with catches fluctuating depending on the availability of fish, market conditions and the attractiveness of other types of fishing. Most catches are made from March to September (Ref. 26501). Adult fish are targeted. Most anchovy are sold either locally or interstate as bait fish although there is a small market for human consumption. Anchovy caught in Victoria are sold whole and salted. In Western Australia, most anchovy are now processed (canned and fish paste) for human consumption.
Recreational fishery: There is no recreational fishery for anchovy in Australia, but recreational fishers purchase large amounts of commercially caught anchovy for bait, and some may catch small quantities of fresh anchovy for the same purpose.
Resource status: The status of the eastern Australian anchovy resource is unknown, although the Victorian resource is thought to be underutilised in coastal waters. Western Australian stocks do not appear to be as large as those in Victoria. Also Ref. 75154. |
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