New Zealand blueback sprat

New Zealand blueback sprat
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Clupeiformes
Family:	Clupeidae
Subfamily:	Incertae sedis
Genus:	Sprattus
Species:	S. antipodum
Binomial name
Sprattus antipodum (Hector, 1872)

The New Zealand blueback sprat, Sprattus antipodum, is a herring-like, forage fish of the family Clupeidae found in the waters around New Zealand, between latitudes 37° S and 48° S, and longitude 166° E and 180° E, to depths of up to 50 m. Its length is up to 12 cm.

The species schools in coastal waters primarily on the bottom or midwater, with shoals of fish seen on the surface usually only in summer. It is fished mainly in subsistence fisheries and occasionally used as fishing bait.

References

• Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Sprattus antipodum" in FishBase. July 2006 version.

Bibliography

• Armitage, R.O.; D.A. Payne, G.J. Lockley, H.M. Currie, R.L. Colban, B.G. Lamb and L.J. Paul, Editors (1994). Guide book to New Zealand commercial fish species. Revised edition. Wellington, New Zealand: New Zealand Fishing Industry Board.