Sprattus sprattus, European sprat : fisheries, bait

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Sprattus sprattus (Linnaeus, 1758)

European sprat
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Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
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Sprattus sprattus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Sprattus sprattus (European sprat)
Sprattus sprattus
Picture by Svensen, R.

France country information

Common names: Amelette, Esprot, Harenguet
Occurrence: native
Salinity: brackish
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: live export: yes;
Comments: Known from Mont Saint-Michel Bay (Ref. 38302) and Gironde estuary (Ref. 51442). Also Ref. 188.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/fr.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Béarez, P., P. Pruvost, É. Feunteun, S. Iglésias, P. Francour, R. Causse, J. De Mazières, S. Tercerie and N. Bailly, 2017
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Sprat, Espadín, Шпрот европейский, ... more

Classification / Names Populärnamn | synonymer | Catalog of Fishes(Släkte, Arter) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

> Clupeiformes (Herrings) > Clupeidae (Herrings, shads, sardines, menhadens)
Etymology: Sprattus: Old German, sprotte (1611) = a small fish, Clupea sp. (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Linnaeus.

Issue
The subspecies were not characterized well enough, that unless there is more evidence presented in the future, Sprattus sprattus should be considered as one species with several known populations (S.Kullander, pers.comm. 07/09).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / djupintervall / distribution range Ekologi

marina; brackvatten pelagic-neritic; havsvandrande (Ref. 51243); djupintervall 10 - 150 m (Ref. 6302). Temperate; 69°N - 30°N, 11°W - 42°E

Utbredning Länder | FAO områden | Ekosystem | Förekomster | Prickkarta | Utplanteringar | Faunafri

Northeast Atlantic: North Sea and adjacent waters as far north as the Lofoten Area and the west of the British Isles, and Baltic Sea south to Morocco; also in northern Mediterranean (Gulf of Lion and the Adriatic Sea) and Black Sea.

Length at first maturity / Size / Vikt / Age

Könsmognad: Lm 10.1, range 8 - 12 cm
Max length : 16.0 cm SL hane/ej könsbestämd; (Ref. 188); common length : 12.0 cm SL hane/ej könsbestämd; (Ref. 188); rapporterad maxålder: 6 år (Ref. 3561)

Short description Bestämningsnycklar | Morfologi | Morfometri

Taggstrålar i ryggfenan (totalt) : 0; Mjukstrålar i ryggfenan (totalt) : 13 - 21; Taggstrålar i analfenan: 0; Mjukstrålar i analfenan: 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.
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal; Cross section: compressed.

Biologi     Ordlista (t.ex. epibenthic)

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).

Life cycle and mating behavior Könsmognad | Reproduktion | Lek | Ägg | Fecundity | Larver

Some spawn almost year round but mainly in spring and summer, near to the coast or up to 100 km out to sea, the young drifting inshore. Individual period of spawning takes about two months (Ref. 92054).

Main reference Upload your references | referenser | Koordinator | Medarbetare

Whitehead, P.J.P., 1985. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 7. Clupeoid fishes of the world (suborder Clupeoidei). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the herrings, sardines, pilchards, sprats, shads, anchovies and wolf-herrings. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(7/1):1-303. Rome: FAO. (Ref. 188)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 18 July 2018

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30911)





Human uses

Fiskeri: kommersiellt viktig; bete: usually
FAO - fiskeri: landings, species profile; Publication: search | FIRMS - Stock assessments | FishSource | Sea Around Us

Ytterligare information

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Födosammansättning
Födointag
Food rations
Predatorer
Ekologi
Ekologi
Home ranges
Population dynamics
Tillväxtparametrar
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Rekrytering
Abundans
Life cycle
Reproduktion
Könsmognad
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Lek
Spawning aggregations
Ägg
Egg development
Larver
Larvdynamik
Utbredning
Länder
FAO områden
Ekosystem
Förekomster
Utplanteringar
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gälyta
Brain
Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Syreförbrukning
Swimming type
Simhastighet
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetik
Genome
Genetik
Heterozygosity
Ärftlighet
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Vattenbruksprofiler
Avelslinjer
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Medarbetare
Taxonomy
Populärnamn
synonymer
Morfologi
Morfometri
Bilder
referenser
referenser

Verktyg

Bio-Quiz | E-book | Fälthandbok | Bestämningsnycklar | Längdfördelnings-verktyg | Livshistorie-verktyg | Prickkarta | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Populärnamn | Photos

Internet-källor

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: Släkte, Arter | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - fiskeri: landings, species profile; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | Nationella databaser | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, sök | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 4.3 - 15.3, mean 9.5 °C (based on 530 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5313   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00550 (0.00468 - 0.00646), b=3.10 (3.05 - 3.15), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trofisk nivå (Ref. 69278):  3.0   ±0.07 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 2.2 (1.7 - 2.6) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 23 growth studies.
Resiliens (Ref. 120179):  Mellan, lägsta populationsfördubblingstid 1,4-4,4 år (rm=1.7; K=0.14-0.77; tm=1-2; tmax=6; Fec=2,000 (batch fec)).
Prior r = 0.48, 95% CL = 0.32 - 0.72, Based on 17 full stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (25 of 100). 🛈
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Low vulnerability (15 of 100). 🛈
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Low.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 69.8 [34.7, 136.5] mg/100g; Iron = 0.454 [0.171, 1.290] mg/100g; Protein = 19.9 [17.2, 22.6] %; Omega3 = 0.601 [0.328, 1.136] g/100g; Selenium = 8.55 [3.88, 18.40] μg/100g; VitaminA = 66.3 [13.8, 248.5] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.429 [0.200, 1.835] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.