Sprattus sprattus (Linnaeus, 1758)

European sprat

Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Classification	Actinopterygii \| Clupeiformes \| Clupeidae
Synonyms	Clupea sprattus, Sprattus sprattus sprattus, Clupanodon phalerica, ... more
Common names	Sprat, Espadín, Mélette phalérique, ... more

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Image of Sprattus sprattus (European sprat)

Picture by Svensen, E.

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Main reference

Whitehead, P.J.P. 1985. (Ref. 188)
Other references | Biblio | Coordinator | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 16.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 188); common length : 12.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 188); max. reported age: 6 years (Ref. 3561)

Environment

Pelagic-neritic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); brackish; marine; depth range 10 - 150 m (Ref. 6302)

Climate / Range

Temperate; 66°N - 30°N, 11°W - 42°E

Northeast Atlantic: North Sea and Baltic south to Morocco; also the Mediterranean, Adriatic and Black seas.
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13 - 21; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 12 - 23. Lower jaw slightly projecting, gill cover without any bony radiating striae, teeth rarely present on vomer; belly with a strong keel of scutes; last two anal fin rays not enlarged. No dark spots on flanks. Pterotic bulla absent.

Usually inshore schooling, sometimes entering estuaries (especially the juveniles) and tolerating salinities as low as 4 ppt. Shows strong migrations between winter feeding and summer spawning grounds. Moves to the surface at night. Feeds on planktonic crustaceans (Ref. 9900). Spawns at depths of 10-20 m producing 6,000-14,000 pelagic eggs (Ref. 35388). Some spawn almost throughout the year, mainly in spring and summer, near the coast or up to 100 km out to sea, the young drifting inshore. Sold as 'brislings' to canneries. Sprat are used in the production of fish meal and as mink food, less for human consumption (Ref. 9900). Utilized fresh, smoked, canned and frozen; can be pan-fried and broiled (Ref. 9988).


IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 57073)	Threat to humans
Not Evaluated	Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30911)

Human uses
Fisheries: highly commercial; bait: usually


More information
Countries FAO areas Ecosystems Occurrences Introductions Ecology Diet Food items Food consumption Ration	Common names Synonyms Metabolism Predators Ecotoxicology Reproduction Maturity Spawning Eggs Egg development	Age/Size Growth Length-weight Length-length Length-frequencies Morphometrics Morphology Larvae Larval dynamics Recruitment	Other references Biblio Aquaculture Aquaculture profile Strains Genetics Allele frequencies Heritability Diseases Processing	Collaborators Pictures Stamps Sounds Ciguatera Speed Swim. type Gill area Otoliths Brains Vision

Tools
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Special reports
Check for Aquarium maintenance \| Check for Species Fact Sheets \| Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

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Internet sources

Estimation of some characteristics with mathematical models

Resilience (Ref. 69278)

High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (rm=1.7; K=0.13-0.77; tm=1-2; tmax=6; Fec=2,000)


Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)	Price category (Ref. 80766)
Low to moderate vulnerability (33 of 100)	Low

Entered by Binohlan, Crispina B.

Modified by Capuli, Estelita Emily

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Page last modified by : elaxamana, 15 July 2009

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