Sprats

the general name for small commercial fishes of the family Clupeidae. They belong to the genera Sprattus and Clupeonella. The body measures up to 17 cm long. Species of the genus Clupeonella, in contrast to those of Sprattus, have a sharp keel on their abdomen, and the two terminal rays of their anal fin are elongated. One species of the genus Sprattus, Sprattussprattus, is found in the waters of the USSR; it comprises two subspecies, the Baltic sprat (Sprattus s. balticus) and the Black Sea sprat (Sprattus s. phalerius). Four species of the genus Clupeonella are found in the waters of the USSR—the tiul’ka, or tyulka (Clupeonella delicatula), the anchovy-like tiul’ka (C. engrauliformis), the bigeye tiul’ka (C. grimmi), and the Abrau sardelle (C. abrau). The tiul’ka has two subspecies, the Caspian tiul’ka C. delicatula caspia and the Black Sea tiul’ka C. delicatula delicatula. All sprats move in schools and feed on plankton. The roe are pelagic. Sprats are used as food in smoked, salted, and spiced and salted form; they are also canned (sprats and anchovies in oil).