Pacific Anchovy Identification Guide
How to identify the Pacific (northern) anchovy by its overhanging snout and broad, gaping mouth.
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Key identification features
- Slender, rounded body reaching up to about 20-25 cm
- Blue-green back with a bright silver lateral stripe running the length of the body
- Snout distinctly overhangs the lower jaw, giving a pointed, projecting profile
- Very large mouth, with the upper jaw extending well past the rear edge of the eye
- Single dorsal fin set near mid-body
- No sharp belly keel or scutes, unlike sardines and herrings
Common look-alikes
- Pacific sardine: has a blunt snout and small terminal mouth that does not reach the eye, unlike the anchovy's large gape and projecting snout.
- Japanese anchovy: nearly identical in shape and features, distinguished chiefly by range, since Japanese anchovy occurs in the western Pacific and Pacific anchovy in the eastern Pacific.
- Silversides: have two separate dorsal fins and a much smaller mouth compared to the single dorsal fin and oversized gape of Pacific anchovy.
Where you'll see one
Pacific anchovy is common in coastal pelagic waters of the eastern Pacific from British Columbia to Baja California, forming dense nearshore schools, especially in bays and over the continental shelf.
Frequently asked questions
How do I tell a Pacific anchovy from a Pacific sardine?
Look at the mouth: Pacific anchovy has a very large mouth with the jaw reaching well past the eye and a pointed overhanging snout, while Pacific sardine has a small mouth and blunt snout.
How is Pacific anchovy different from Japanese anchovy?
The two are nearly identical in appearance; they are best told apart by range, with Pacific anchovy found in the eastern Pacific and Japanese anchovy in the western Pacific.