Bay anchovy 



Anchoa mitchilli 

 Adult 



2 cm 



(from Fischer 1978) 



Common Name: bay anchovy 



Scientific Name: Anchoa mitchilli 



Other Common Names: anchovy, anchois bai 



(French), anchoa de caleta (Spanish) (Fischer 1978) 



Classification (Robins et al. 1991) 



Phylum: Chordata 



Class: Osteichthyes 



Order: Clupeiformes 



Family: Engraulidae 



Value 



Commercial : The bay anchovy is not currently har- 

 vested in the United States due to its small size, but is 

 of some use as bait and in the preparation of anchovy 

 paste (Hildebrand 1943, Hildebrand 1963, Daly 1970, 

 Christmas and Waller 1973). It can be caught with 

 beach seines and trawls (Fischer 1978). This species 

 and other "coastal herrings" represent a large 

 underutilized fishery resource with a potential yield of 

 1 to 2 million mt (SEFSC 1 992). Anchovies are seldom 

 taken as bycatch by trawl or purse seine fisheries due 

 to their small size (Christmas et al. 1960). 



Recreational : The bay anchovy is indirectly important 

 to recreational fisheries as a major forage item for 

 many game fish (Hildebrand 1943, Christmas and 

 Waller 1973). 



Indicator of Environmental Stress : Because of its im- 

 portance as a forage species, this species can be 

 considered an indicator of the health of an estuary 

 (Shipp 1986). Studies supported by the Texas Water 

 Quality Board show that the bay anchovy can be used 

 to indicate poor water quality. This species can quickly 

 adapt to pollution stress due to its small size and short 

 food chain and become the dominant species of the 



polluted area. Its dominance in a particular area for two 

 or more consecutive seasons can be indicative of 

 deteriorating water quality (Bechtel and Copeland 1 970, 

 Livingston 1975). 



Ecological : Bay anchovies probably constitute the great- 

 est biomass of any fish in the estuarine waters of both 

 the southeastern U.S. and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico 

 (Reid 1 955, Perret 1 971 , Christmas and Waller 1 973, 

 Perry and Boyes 1 977, Perry 1 979, Shipp 1 986). This 

 species is a staple item in the diet of many predatory 

 bird and fish species, and is a crucial link in the 

 estuarine food web between zooplankton and higher 

 trophic level predators (Hildebrand 1943, Reid 1955, 

 Christmas and Waller 1973, Robinette 1983, Shipp 

 1 986). Distributions of predators indicate that the bay 

 anchovy is an important prey species in the weedy 

 shallows as well as surface and bottom waters (Darnell 

 1961). Larval bay anchovy are one of the dominant 

 species of ichthyoplankton in the Gulf of Mexico during 

 the summer months (Raynie and Shaw 1994). 



Range 



Overall : This species occurs from Casco Bay, Maine to 

 nearTampico, Mexico (Hildebrand 1943, Hildebrand 

 1963, Daly 1970, Houde 1974, Hoese and Moore 

 1977). It is taken only rarely in the Yucatan, Gulf of 

 Maine, and Florida Keys, and never in the West Indies 

 (Hildebrand 1 943, Daly 1 970, Hoese and Moore 1 977). 

 It has also been shown by morphometric methods that 

 virtually every section of the coast within the range of 

 the bay anchovy has a distinctive population, and that 

 clinal variation over this species' range may account for 

 differences in form (Hildebrand 1 943, Hildebrand 1 963, 

 Leeetal. 1980). 



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