Northern Anchovy, Engraulis mordax

Northern Anchovy, Engraulis mordax. Fish caught off the Oceanside Pier, Oceanside, California, June 2006. Length: 10 cm (3.9 inches).

Northern Anchovy, Engraulis mordax. Fish caught from coastal waters off San Diego, California, October 2016. Length: 10 cm (3.9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Eli (obsessiveangling.wordpress.com).

Northern Anchovy, Engraulis mordax. Fish caught from within Ventura Harbor, Ventura, California, July 2021. Length: 10 cm (3.9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Chris Moore, Peoria, Arizona.

The Northern Anchovy, Engraulis mordax, is a member of the Anchovy or Engraudlidae Family, that is also known as the California Anchovy and in Mexico as anchoveta norteña. Globally, there are eight species in the genus Engraulis, of which are two are found in Mexican waters, one in the Atlantic and one, this species, in the Pacific Ocean.

The Northern Anchovy is characterized by a slender, elongated, and rounded body featuring a long, sharply-pointed snout. Their anal fin has 19 to 26 rays an originates under the base of the last dorsal fin ray (a key to identification) and has a short base; their caudal fin is forked; their dorsal fin has 14 to 19 rays; and, their pectoral fins are short. Young fish have a silver stripe along their sides.

The Northern Anchovies collect near the water surface at night and vertically migrate to depths of up to 305 m (1,000 feet) during the day. They can reach a maximum 23 cm (9.1 inches) in length.They are filter feeders and consume plankton. They reproduce via oviparity with external fertilization with the eggs and larvae being planktonic. Although abundant the Northern Anchovy is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Northern Anchovy is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific being found along the entire west coast of Baja and in the lower two-thirds of the Sea of Cortez. They are absent from along the coast of the mainland. The Northern Anchovy is the most abundant anchovy found on the West Coast of North America.

The Northern Anchovy can easily be confused with the Slender Anchovy, Anchoa exigua (narrow silver stripe along flank, anal fin originating under the center of the dorsal fin) and the Sharpnose Anchovy, Anchoa ischana (silver stripe along the flank, that is narrow at the front and broad at the tail, short-based anal fin originating at the end of the dorsal fin).

From a conservation perspective the Northern Anchovy is currently considered to be of Least Concern with widely distributed stable populations. They are small in stature that are retained for use as a live bait or for food by subsistence fishermen.