Northern Anchovy (Engraulis mordax)

• While populations are thought to be healthy, there is no current information on the health of Northern anchovy populations.
• Anchovy fisheries are managed based on annual landings data.
• Anchovies are high in calcium, iron, niacin, phosphorus, and selenium, but they are also high in cholesterol. For more on nutrition, see Nutrition Facts. (USDA)
• The U.S. imports all of the anchovies that Americans eat. Almost all of the anchovies caught in the U.S. are used for bait.

Sustainability Status

Biomass: There are no current estimates of biomass for anchovy. This species is managed based on landings.
Overfishing: No (Central); Undefined (Northern)
Overfished: Undefined
Fishing and habitat: Anchovies are caught with roundhaul gear, which likely have little effect on habitat.
Bycatch: Bycatch is generally low in coastal pelagic species (CPS) fisheries because most CPS vessels fish with roundhaul gear, which encircles schools of fish with nets. This gear targets a specific school, which usually contains only one species. The most common incidental catch in the fishery is another coastal pelagic species.
Aquaculture: There is currently no aquaculture of Northern anchovy in the U.S., but fish meal made from anchovies may be used as feed in aquaculture of other species.

Science and Management

Northern anchovy are managed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council as part of the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The FMP includes a limited entry program, an annual management framework, provisions to reduce bycatch and bycatch mortality, monitoring through logbook and observer programs, and a maximum fleet capacity. Northern anchovy is a "monitored species" along with jack mackerel and market squid; harvest guidelines and quotas are not established for these species. Landings are monitored for Northern anchovy, and any changes in management are based upon significant changes in landings or the fishery.

Northern anchovy is a transboundary resource, meaning that these fish migrate across international boundaries. To ensure sustainability of the coastwide fishery, Mexico, Canada, and the United States must coordinate fishery management and science.

NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center has conducted research on Northern anchovy for years to inform and improve management.

Life History and Habitat

Life history, including information on the habitat, growth, feeding, and reproduction of a species, is important because it affects how a fishery is managed.

• Geographic range: Northern anchovy are found from British Columbia to Baja California and also in the Gulf of California.
• Habitat: Anchovy swim in schools near the surface.
• Life span: Short - anchovies rarely exceed 4 years of age, but some as old as 7 years have been recorded.
• Food: Northern anchovy eat phytoplankton and zooplankton (tiny floating plants and animals) by either filter feeding or biting, depending on the size of the food.
• Growth rate: Fast - anchovies can reach 4 inches in length in their first year.
• Maximum size: Anchovies typically grow up to 7 inches in total length, although anchovies as long as 9 inches have been recorded.
• Reaches reproductive maturity: At age 2.
• Reproduction: Females spawn batches of eggs throughout the spawning season at intervals as short as 7 to 10 days. The eggs hatch in 2 to 4 days, depending on water temperature. Eggs and larvae are found near the surface.
• Spawning season: Anchovy spawn year-round, but spawning peaks from February to April.
• Spawning grounds: Anchovy spawn within 62 miles of the coast near the surface.
• Migrations: While anchovies move along the shore and offshore, they do not migrate extensively.
• Predators: An assortment of invertebrate and vertebrate plankton-eaters prey on anchovy eggs and larvae. As juveniles, anchovy are vulnerable to a wide variety of predators, including many recreationally and commercially important fish species. Adults are preyed upon by endangered salmon stocks, endangered birds, and numerous other fish, marine mammals, and birds.
• Commercial or recreational interest: Commercial
• Distinguishing characteristics: Anchovy are small, compressed fish with long snouts that overhang a large mouth. Their bodies are bluish-green above and silvery below, and adults have a faint silver stripe on the side.

Role in the Ecosystem

Northern anchovy are an important part of the food chain for other species, including other fish, birds, and marine mammals.

Additional Information

Market name: Anchovy
Vernacular names: North Pacific Anchovy, California Anchovy, Northern Anchovy

Biomass

Biomass refers to the amount of Northern anchovy in the ocean. Scientists cannot collect and weigh every single fish to determine biomass, so they use models to estimate it instead. These biomass estimates can help determine if a stock is being fished too heavily or if it may be able to tolerate more fishing pressure. Managers can then make appropriate changes in the regulations of the fishery.

Recent biomass estimates for the central subpopulation (from San Francisco to Baja, California) indicate that biomass averaged 326,000 metric tons until 1970, increased rapidly to 1.6 million metric tons in 1974, and then declined to 521,000 metric tons in 1978. During the early 1990s, biomass declined to about 150,000 metric tons and then increased to 388,000 metric tons in 1995. No new stock assessment has been made, as this species in currently managed based on landings.

There is little information about the abundance of the northern subpopulation, which ranges from San Francisco north to Canada.

Landings

Landings refer to the amount of catch that is brought to land. Northern anchovy are divided into northern, central, and southern sub-populations. The northern subpopulation supports a small bait fishery off Oregon and Washington. The southern population is entirely within Mexican waters. The central subpopulation ranges from San Francisco to Baja, California and supports significant commercial fisheries in the U.S. and Mexico.

California landings of Northern anchovy began to increase in 1964, peaking in 1975 at 143,799 metric tons. After 1975, landings declined. From 1983 to 1999, landings did not exceed 6,000 metric tons per year until 2000, when they were reported at 11,753 metric tons. They declined down to 1,676 metric tons in 2003 but increased up to 12,788 metric tons in 2006.

There are no reported landings of northern anchovy in Oregon from 1981 through 2001; thereafter, landings ranged from 3.1 metric tons in 2002 up to 170 metric tons in 2005. Washington reported 42 metric tons in 1988, but no landings were reported until 2003 when 214 metric tons were landed. There were none from 2004 through 2006.

Note: U.S. commercial landings are shown in the graph.

Biomass and Landings

Are landings and biomass related? Landings are dependent on biomass, management measures in the fishery, and fishing effort.

Data sources:
Biomass from Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan

Landings from Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Document - June 2007

Important Dates

1978 – Northern Anchovy FMP goes into effect
1999 – New FMP goes into effect for the entire coastal pelagic species fishery, replacing the Northern Anchovy FMP
2003 – Amendment 10 establishes a maximum fleet capacity for the CPS fishery

Notes and Links

General Information:
Southwest Fisheries Science Center Northern Anchovy Research

Pacific Fishery Management Council Backgrounder on Coastal Pelagic Species

Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission Northern Anchovy Facts

Fishery Management:
Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan

Stock Assessments:
Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Document - June 2007