©Timo Moritz/DMM

Smelt

D-Stint; GB-Smelt; DK-Smelt; PL- Stynka; LT-Stinta; LV-Salaka; EST- Meritint; RU- корюшка; FIN-Kuore; S-Nors

Characters

1) Adipose fin.
2) Long mouth opening, reaching as far as below eye.
●) Body slender with relatively big scales (in comparison with salmons and trouts).
●) Characteristic smell of cucumber.
●) Never with spots on fins.
●) Lateral line incomplete.
Often 8 to 16 cm, max. 30 cm length.

Similar species

Vendace - much smaller mouth; lateral line complete.

Biology

Lives as swarm fish near the coast in 12 to 30 m depth; after reaching sexual maturity with 1 to 2 years, they migrate upstreams; females lay 8.000 to 50.000 eggs over sand or gravel ground. Many animals die after spawning.

Diet

They feed on zooplankton, mainly on crustaceans, their larvae and different other larvae, seldom on young fish.

Importance

Commercially important as foodfish, for oil- and animal feed- production.

Endangerment

Generelly presumably not endangered, but many populations confined to a lokal area are threatened because of constructions and pollution of water bodies.