Anchovy is a popular food fish related to the herring. Anchovies are used in salads, pizza, and sauces, and they are often canned, dried, or made into a paste. Some people eat freshly cooked anchovies.
Anchovies have tender, oily flesh. Most anchovies measure less than 4 inches (10 centimeters) long. The fish have large eyes and a long snout that sticks out far beyond their lower jaw. An anchovy has a silvery underside and a green or blue back. Most species have blue or silver bands along their sides.
Anchovies travel in large schools. Most live in the shallow coastal waters of warm tropical regions. Large quantities of the fish are caught in the Mediterranean Sea and along the coast of Peru in South America. The type of anchovy caught along the Peruvian coast is sometimes called an anchoveta. It is used mainly in animal feed or as fish bait.
