Anchoveta

Where it lives

Peruvian anchoveta inhabit the cold, nutrient-rich upwelling waters of the Humboldt Current off Peru and northern Chile. They form vast dense schools in the upper 50 m and depend on persistent upwelling for the phytoplankton blooms that feed them.

How to recognise it

A small, slim, blue-green anchovy with a long silvery stripe along the flank. The mouth is huge, with the upper jaw projecting well past the lower. Body proportions are very slender, more elongated than the European anchovy.

Diet & behavior

Anchoveta filter-feed almost continuously on phytoplankton and zooplankton, switching between filter and particulate feeding depending on prey size. They are short-lived — most do not survive past three years — and reproduce prolifically.

Fisheries & Conservation

Globally Least Concern in good upwelling years, but extremely sensitive to El Nino events that warm the surface and shut down upwelling. The 1972-73 collapse triggered the most famous fishery crash in modern history; most catch is rendered to fishmeal for aquaculture.