Araucanian herring


The Araucanian herring is a species of fish in the family Clupeidae. It is an epipelagic fish, silvery below and dark blue above, which schools in coastal waters off the west coast of South America. It ranges along the Chilean coast from Valparaiso south to Talcahuano. It schools at depths from in nearshore areas.
There it filter feeds on smaller plankton such as diatoms. It reaches sexual maturity when it is about long, and is a pelagic spawner, spawning between June and November. It grows to a maximum standard length of.

Fisheries

The Araucanian herring is a commercial species, largely used for fishmeal. Based on the FAO fishery statistics, it was the 12th most important capture fish species in 2009. All reported landings are from Chile.

Literature

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