Anchovies as food Anchovies as food Anchovies are a family (Engraulidae) of small, common salt-water forage fish. There are 144 species in 17 genera, found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Anchovies are usually classified as an oily fish. They are small, green fish with blue reflections due to a silver longitudinal stripe that runs from the base of the caudal fin. They range from to in adult length, and the body shape is variable with more slender fish in northern populations. A traditional method of processing and preserving anchovies is to gut and salt them in brine, allow them to mature,
Reicheltia halsteadi at the eyes, between the eyes and pectoral fin base, just behind the pectoral fin base and are extending down side at dorsal fin base, and at the caudal fin base. Brownish blotches and yellow green background continue to mid-lateral region of the fish and are replaced by small silverfish-grey flecks which gradually merges into the white belly. The cheeks and lower lateral surfaces have a silverfish-grey sheen. Spinose region of the belly is white. All fins are pale, and a reddish-brown patch is seen on anterior of pectoral fin insert. Halstead's toadfish is distributed in the southwestern Pacific, from