Japanese anchovy

Engraulis japonicus

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth2–40 m
Water temperature9–29 °C
Best monthsMarch, July, and September
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Kingfisher, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

The Japanese anchovy is a schooling fish in the family Engraulidae. It is common in the northwest Pacific Ocean, occurring in the Sea of Okhotsk, the Sea of Japan, the east coast of Japan, the Yellow Sea, and East China Sea. This species lives for 2–3 years, similar to the European anchovy.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Japanese anchovy”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 6 records
February: 9 records
March: 19 records
April: 11 records
May: 18 records
June: 13 records
July: 28 records
August: 18 records
September: 27 records
October: 15 records
November: 9 records
December: 11 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 2–40 m · Deepest record: 287.5 m

0–10 m: 9 records
10–20 m: 10 records
20–30 m: 15 records
30–40 m: 16 records
40–50 m: 3 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 1 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 9–29 °C

8–10 °C: 1 records
10–12 °C: 0 records
12–14 °C: 3 records
14–16 °C: 11 records
16–18 °C: 4 records
18–20 °C: 58 records
20–22 °C: 25 records
22–24 °C: 4 records
24–26 °C: 9 records
26–28 °C: 20 records
28–30 °C: 14 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Japanese anchovy, Cape anchovy, Southern African anchovy

Names in 4 more languages

Spanish: Anchoa de Africa austral, Anchoa del Cabo, Anchoita japonesa, Boquerón
French: Anchois, Anchois de l'Afrique australe, Anchois japonais
Japanese: Katakuchiiwashi, カタクチイワシ
Simplified Chinese: 厚殼鱙, 姑仔, 日本鯷, 片口, 苦蚵仔, 苦蠔仔, 鰯仔, 鱙仔, 黑鱙

Other scientific names: Atherina japonica, Engraulis japonica, Engraulis zollingeri, Engraulus japonicus, Stolephorus celebicus, Stolephorus zollingeri

Similar species

Shorthead anchovy
Encrasicholina heteroloba
Buccaneer anchovy
Encrasicholina punctifer
Commerson's anchovy
Stolephorus commersonnii
Indian anchovy
Stolephorus indicus
Longjaw thryssa
Thryssa setirostris
Stolephorus acinaces

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
888 open-data records from 1846 to 2014.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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