The anchovy (family Engraulidae) is a small herringlike fish found off the coasts of California and Mexico. It is caught in purse seines, and at on e time was used as line bait for tuna fishing and later mostly in the production of fish meal and fish oil.
The anchovy ranges over all the temperate and tropical seas of the world. Of the more than 130 varieties of anchovies, sixteen are found in United States waters. The only commercial fishery in the United States that targets anchovies for food is located on the Pacific Coast. The northern anchovy is sold there mostly as live bait and to a lesser extent as food. The bay anchovy found on eastern shore is often one of a mixture of juvenile fish taken as whitebait, but no targeted fishery exists for adults in the east.
The Anchovy
