Northern Anchovy Identification Guide
Recognize northern anchovy by its pointed overhanging snout, oversized mouth, and bright silvery lateral stripe.
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Key identification features
- Slender, rounded, torpedo-shaped body with a pointed snout that clearly overhangs a large mouth reaching well past the eye
- Blue-green to olive back contrasting with a bright silver stripe running along the side
- Single short dorsal fin set roughly at the body's midpoint and a deeply forked tail
- Large eye and a smooth, unkeeled belly without the sharp scutes seen in herring and sardines
- Small size, usually 10-20 cm as an adult, occasionally to 25 cm
Common look-alikes
- Pacific sardine — blunt head with a mouth ending beneath the eye, plus a row of dark spots along the flank this species lacks
- Pacific herring — smaller mouth not reaching past the eye and a moderately keeled belly
- Topsmelt and other silversides — have two separate dorsal fins and a distinct silver band bordered by darker lines, unlike this species' single dorsal fin
Where you'll see one
Northern anchovy are abundant throughout the California Current, schooling in dense surface aggregations from Baja California to British Columbia in nearshore and offshore coastal waters.
Frequently asked questions
How do I quickly tell an anchovy from a sardine in a bait bucket?
Look at the snout — an anchovy's pointed snout clearly overhangs a mouth extending well past the eye, while a sardine has a blunter head and a smaller mouth.
How do I avoid confusing anchovy with silversides?
Count the dorsal fins — anchovy have just one dorsal fin, while silversides like topsmelt have two separate dorsal fins along the back.