Oil Sardine

The oil sardine is a subspecies of the ray-finned fish and is one amongst the two most important fish in India, the other one being mackerel. We find the oil sardine occupying the Indian Ocean and that too in abundance. Mostly the oil sardine is said to feed on phytoplankton and zooplankton. The body of this fish is said to be quite elongated so much so that it looks like a cylinder.

The belly of the oil sardine is round and they have around 8 rays on their pelvic fins. You can also see a clear golden mid-lateral line and a black spot on the border of its gill covers. Around at the age of 1 year, the oil sardine attains sexual maturity. Its length is around 15 cm by that time. The average lifespan of this fish is normally around 2.5 years.

Spawning season for the oil sardine ranges from June to December. Normally they are only one time spawners during this entire duration. While the older fishes spawn early the younger ones are late at doing that. For commercial catching, the best time is between June and July as they seem to have gained weight for spawning by that time.