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,
Nemipterus randalli back fading silvery-pink on the belly, there are four pale yellow longitudinal stripes on the flanks, the upper stripe starts at eye level and runs to caudal peduncle. The other three stripes are close to each other and there is a yellow spot on the cheek and another on the operculum. They grow to a maximum length of 30 cm but are normally 5–20 cm. The dorsal fin is pale bluish in colour with a red margin and yellow markings clustered towards the base, the caudal fin also has a red margin. "Nemipterus randalli" is native to the western Indian