Identity
This profile covers Anchoa mitchilli. Several small anchovies can occur together, and a general silvery-school appearance is not enough for identification. Its importance lies largely in the many small individuals available to predators rather than in the size of a single fish.
Size and Weight
The reported maximum standard length is 10 cm, approximately 3.9 inches, excluding the tail. A common total length is 6 cm, a different measurement convention. A Chesapeake study recorded older individuals above five grams, but that lower-bound statement is not an exact maximum weight and is not presented as one.
Habitat and Natural Food
Bays and estuaries provide feeding and nursery habitat. Zooplankton supports the fish, while larger predators consume the anchovies. Local abundance can vary, so a large observed school does not by itself establish the water with the greatest population.
Growth and Fishery Role
Population studies find many young fish and fewer older individuals. Older fish can continue gaining weight after length growth slows. The species is used as bait, but that role should not be confused with a verified method for targeting anchovies on hook and line.
Small Fish, Large Food-Web Role
A Bay Anchovy is small, but a school represents food for many larger animals. By eating plankton and becoming prey, these fish connect organisms at very different sizes within coastal waters.
All Lakes With Bay Anchovy
Browse all lakes and reservoirs with confirmed Bay Anchovy records in our database, listed alphabetically.
Showing 1–11 of 11 lakes · Page 1 of 1
- Big Lake Cameron, LA
- Big Mar Plaquemines, LA
- Caillou Lake Terrebonne, LA
- Grand Lake Cameron, LA
- Lake Arthur Cameron, LA
- Lake Boudreaux Terrebonne, LA
- Lake Lery Plaquemines, LA
- Lake Mechant Terrebonne, LA
- Lake Pontchartrain St. Tammany, LA
- Lake Saint Catherine Orleans, LA
- White Lake Vermilion, LA