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Dieren en planten

Fish   Herring family   Herring   Sprat   Anchovies   Marine fauna   Sea fish   
  • Dut: Sprot (bliek, sardijn, schardijn)
  • Lat: Sprattus sprattus
  • Eng: European sprat
  • Ger: Sprotte
  • Fren: Sprat
  • Dan: Brisling
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Sprat, Ecomare

Sprat

Sprat is a small species belonging to the herring family. Large schools of ten-centimeter long sprat swim in the upper water column in search of plankton. Sprat can grow to eighteen centimeters and six years old. It is mostly caught by the industrial fisheries for producing fish-meal. Other fish and birds eat lots of sprat. Sprat is sometimes smoked for human consumption, sold in the Netherlands as 'kielersprot'.

  • Steady population

    Sprot is one of the few fish species in the North Sea that is not declining. A strong to extremely strong year class has been born since 1990, including the year class of 2008.