Australian anchovy
Engraulis australis
Illustration: Bloom by Day
A small translucent baitfish with a bright silver stripe and an oversized mouth set under a blunt snout. You meet them as a shimmering wall that opens around you and closes behind, and whatever is hunting them is usually close.
how to recognise it
- a bluntly rounded snout that protrudes well beyond the mouth
- a broad silver stripe down the middle of the side
- a bluish-green back going silvery white below
- small and slender, to about 16 cm
don’t confuse with
- Common hardyhead — the hardyhead's silver band is NARROW and its snout does not overhang; it also has dark pectoral tips
- Australian sardine — the sardine has a row of dark blue spots along the side and no overhanging snout
- Dorab wolf herring — the wolf herring is a metre long with dagger teeth
Field marks read from Fishes of Australia, 2026-10-15. Our wording, their facts. Max size 16 cm TL.
facts
- habitat
- pelagic
- size
- ~10 cm, to 16 cm
Max size from Fishes of Australia (16 cm TL); the typical size is Bluebird’s, not from a cited source
- records near here
- 29 at 5 of 6 spots
A count of occurrence records near these spots, not abundance. Records are where someone looked.
when it has been recorded
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A gap means no record in the sample, not absence.
the rule
QLD — None · None
source
· verified 2026-10-10
NSW — no size limit · 100
source
· verified 2026-10-01
no closed season recorded for this species — that is not the same as open; check the official page
Rules checked 2026-10-13 against qld.gov.au
Rules change. Check before you dive.
Occurrence data: Atlas of Living Australia (ala.org.au), CC-BY 4.0.
Diver transect counts: Reef Life Survey (reeflifesurvey.com), CC-BY 4.0, supplied via ALA.
Target and protected species: Queensland tidal-water size and possession limits (qld.gov.au) and NSW saltwater bag and size limits plus threatened species lists (dpird.nsw.gov.au).
Habitat and size: Bluebird, approximate, from general knowledge. Not cited. FishBase is CC BY-NC and this app is commercial, so it is not used.
Description written for Bloom. RECORDS ARE WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED, NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE. A record count is a count of records near here and nothing else -- it is not abundance, and a species with few records is not rare. Absence of records is not absence of fish.
Diver transect counts: Reef Life Survey (reeflifesurvey.com), CC-BY 4.0, supplied via ALA.
Target and protected species: Queensland tidal-water size and possession limits (qld.gov.au) and NSW saltwater bag and size limits plus threatened species lists (dpird.nsw.gov.au).
Habitat and size: Bluebird, approximate, from general knowledge. Not cited. FishBase is CC BY-NC and this app is commercial, so it is not used.
Description written for Bloom. RECORDS ARE WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED, NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE. A record count is a count of records near here and nothing else -- it is not abundance, and a species with few records is not rare. Absence of records is not absence of fish.