118 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



scrap. 39 In 1946, when the catch for the Gulf of 

 Maine was only about 20,000 pounds, the total 

 catch for the Atlantic and Gulf States was 851,129, 

 000 pounds; the value of the catch to the fisher- 

 men was $7,439,573; the value of the products 

 made from menhaden was $18,196,573. Con- 



siderable numbers are used locally on the Middle 

 Atlantic coast for bait. But the menhaden is so 

 oily that it is unlikely to become popular as a food 

 fish. Practically the entire catch of menhaden is 

 taken by purse seines and in pound nets; they 

 never bite a baited hook. 



THE ANCHOVIES. FAMILY ENGRAULIDAE <° 



The anchovies are small herring-like fishes; bu.t 

 they are easily distinguishable from the herrings 

 by the fact that then mouths are not only very 

 much larger and gape much farther back, but are 

 on the lower side of the head, and are overhung by 

 the upper jaw, which projects like a short piglike 

 snout in some species. Two anchovies are known 

 to occur in the Gulf of Maine; both are stragglers 

 from the south. 



KEY TO GULF OF MAINE ANCHOVIES 



1. Anal fin originates under the front of the dorsal; the 

 silvery lateral band is diffuse; 24 to 27 anal fin rays 



Anchovy, p. 118. 



Anal fin originates under the rear rays of the dorsal; 

 silvery lateral band bright and well defined; 20 or 

 21 anal fin rays Striped anchovy, p. 119. 



Anchovy Anchoa mitchilli (Cuvier and 



Valenciennes) 1848 



Whitebait 



Jordan and Evermann (Stolephorus mitchilli), 1896- 

 1900, p. 446. 



Description. — The only Gulf of Maine fishes with 

 which one might confuse an anchovy are young 

 herring, smelt, or silversides, but it is easily dis- 

 tinguished from the former by the wide mouth, as 

 just noted; by its much larger eye; by the relative 

 positions of the fins with the dorsal wholly behind 



11 For an account of the menhaden industry, see Harrison. Inv. Rept. No. 

 1, U. S. Bureau of Fisheries, 1931. 



the ventrals instead of over them and with the 

 latter originating close behind the tips of the 

 pectorals when these are laid back against the 

 body; and by its much longer anal fin. The lack 

 of an adipose fin behind the dorsal is sufficient to 

 separate anchovy from smelt at a glance, while 

 the silversides {Menidia) have two dorsal fins in- 

 stead of one. The anchovy has large, thin, 

 easily detached scales and a deeply forked tail. 

 This species may be distinguished from the striped 

 anchovy by the fact that its anal fin originates 

 under the front of the dorsal ; by its more or less 

 diffuse lateral band of silver; by its more numerous 

 anal fin rays (24 to 27 contrasted with 20 or 21 for 

 the striped anchovy), and by its relatively small 

 size, for it seldom exceeds 3 inches in length. The 

 body is about 4 to 5 times as long as deep in both 

 anchovies. 



Color. — This is a whitish silvery, translucent 

 little fish, its most characteristic marking being an 

 ill-defined silvery band scarcely wider than the 

 pupil of the eye, running from the gill opening 

 back to the caudal fin. There are also many dark 

 dots on body and fins. 



Size. — Seldom more than 3% inches long. 



General range.- — Coast of the United States 

 from Maine to Texas, chiefly west and south of 

 Cape Cod. 



*° For a recent review of the American anchovies see Hildebrand, Bull- 

 Bingham Oceanographic Coll., vol. 8. art. 2, 1943. 



Figure 51. — Anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli). 



