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,
Indo-Pacific blue marlin 23 rays, are falcate and flexible, and can be drawn in to the sides of the body. Nape is higtly elevated. The upper jaw forms a robust but not very long beak, round in cross section. Caudal peduncle shows strong double keels on each side. Body color is blue-black dorsally and silvery white ventrally, sometimes with light blue vertical stripes. Spawning takes place during summer in both the Indian and Pacific oceans. In the southern hemisphere, spawning probably occurs around French Polynesia. "Makaira mazara" is a highly migratory species. These marlins use their bill for inflicting wounds on their prey.