Anchovies are small fish having greenish-blue reflections due to a silver-coloured longitudinal stripe that runs from the head to base of caudal (tail) fin. They are found in scattered areas throughout the world’s oceans, but are concentrated in temperate waters, and are rare or absent in very cold or very warm seas. Anchovies contributes around 6% to the total pelagic fish landings of India. 28 species of Anchovies are recorded in the Indian waters. Anchovies mostly feed on zooplankton. Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu along east coast and Kerala along west coast are the three coastal states of India which support 95% of the average annual catch of anchovies in the country. There are two fishing seasons: January to May and September to November, the latter period being the peak season for anchovy catches. Major contribution to the fishery is by the genera: Stolephorus, Engraulids, Thryssa, Setipinna and Coilia.
