Good Fish Guide
Your guide to sustainable seafood
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You searched for "sprat, whitebait"
Sprat, whitebait
Sprattus sprattus
The term whitebait is used widely throughout the world, referring to small, usually marine, fishes. It has been reported that whitebait available in the UK is made up mostly of young sprats from the Baltic Sea, but depending on the source,
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these may be mixed with the young of shad, herrings, sticklebacks, gobies and shrimps. It is often difficult to identify different species when they are so small, meaning that in some fisheries the monitoring and reporting of the actual catch may be skewed. Harvesting fish when they are small and before they have matured means they have not contributed to the growth of the population; therefore significant harvesting of juveniles of any stock can have a disproportionately large impact on the health of the population. Small fish are also important prey for other fish, marine mammals and bird species.
Sprat is used for both human consumption and for industrial or reduction purposes, i.e. the production of fish meal. Sprat are a highly resilient species and small artisanal inshore fisheries for human consumption are unlikely to impact significantly on wider stocks. However, sprat are under pressure from industrial fisheries, with high removals, current uncertainty in status and unclear management in some areas. Without proper stock assessment and management, fisheries will likely be much less sustainable.
Mature sprat is a more sustainable alternative to whitebait, which is often a mixture of juvenile fish such as herring, sprat and sandeel. The majority of the North Sea stock is made up of adult or mature fish.
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Capture method — Pelagic trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Baltic Sea
Stock detail —
Subdivisions 22-32
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Capture method — Pelagic trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — North Sea
Stock detail —
IV
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Capture method — Pelagic trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Skagerrak and Kattegat
Stock detail —
IIIa
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Capture method — Pelagic trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — English Channel
Stock detail —
VIId,e
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Capture method — Pelagic trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — West of Scotland, Southern Celtic Seas
Stock detail —
VI and VIIa-c and f-k
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