This fish
is very common and looks like a small
herring but with a streaked operculum.
Moreover, its scales are proportionately
larger. The sardine has a ventral keel
made up of a series of shields, which
is less developed than the keel of all
other clupeidae. The sardine is easily
differentiated from a small shad through
the extension of the anal fin’s
posterior rays.
It is a pelagic species
living in large-size shoals. At night,
the individuals go near the surface
at 20-50 metres and occasionally at
100 metres. It is a littoral fish representing
several populations with different reproduction
zones.
The sardine lives on zooplankton, i.e. small
pelagic animals such as copepoda or the
crab’s larva. Young sardines live
also on phytoplankton.
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