Top 10 most delicious sardines

Sardines belong to the family Herringidae of the order Herringiformes. They are small, slender, silvery fish that usually move in groups and are important economic fish species worldwide. They were first caught in Sardinia, Italy and were named after it. In ancient Greek, it was called "sardonios", which means "from the island of Sardinia". Because the fish is too small and easily rotten, it usually does not sell for a good price in the market, so it is often used to make canned sardines. Portugal and Morocco are the main production areas of canned sardines.

So what are the types of sardines? The editor has compiled the top ten delicious sardines, namely Far Eastern sardines, South American sardines, yellow sardines, Qiu's sardines, golden sardines, Hualien sardines, black-tailed sardines, humpback sardines, white-bellied sardines, and blue-scaled sardines. Let's take a look at the classification of sardines and related content.

1. Far Eastern Sardines (turquoise/39cm in length, Indo-Pacific/Eastern Atlantic)

Far Eastern Sardines, also known as Spotted Sardines, commonly known as Blue Scale Sardines, are one of the most common sardines. Its back is turquoise, the upper part of the body is slightly lighter, and the lower side and abdomen are silvery white. The dorsal fin, pectoral fin and caudal fin are light gray, while the anal fin and pelvic fin are silvery white. The body length of an adult Far Eastern Sardines is about 39 cm, with tender meat and high fat content. It is suitable for a variety of cooking methods, such as steaming, braising, frying, pickling and steaming, which are all very delicious.

Far Eastern Sardines are widely distributed in the Indian Pacific and Eastern Atlantic regions. They are cold-water pelagic fish and are commonly found in waters with a depth of 0 to 200 meters. They usually gather in large groups, often with 40,000 to 50,000 fish in a school. They have the advantages of rapid growth and strong reproductive capacity.

2. South American Sardines (high production, Indo-Pacific region)

South American Sardines are one of the most popular species. They are distributed in the Indo-Pacific region, from southern Africa to the eastern Pacific, and are produced in many regions including Taiwan, China. Sardines are small to medium-sized fish that migrate along the pelagic layer of the coastal waters. They usually live in groups and feed mainly on plankton, such as diatoms, copepods and other small invertebrates.

The annual production of this fish is very high, with an annual global production of more than 10,000 tons. The main fishing season is concentrated in summer and autumn. The fishing methods include drift nets, purse seines, burn nets and trawls. Most of the Sardines are sold after pickling, while smaller individuals are usually used to make fish meal and used as feed.

3. Yellow Sardines (golden vertical stripes on the lower side of the body, Indo-West Pacific region)

Yellow Sardines, also known as Yellowtail Sardines or Yellow Lake Sardines, are one of the top ten sardine species in the world. Its body is elongated and laterally flattened, with a slightly rounded abdomen and a body length of up to 16 cm. The back of the yellow sardine is turquoise, the lower side of the body and the abdomen are silvery white, and there is a golden longitudinal stripe along the lower side of the body. The dorsal and caudal fins are light yellow with black edges. There are no obvious large black spots at the ends of the upper and lower lobes of the caudal fin. The pectoral fins are light yellow, and the rest of the fins are light color.

Originally produced in Indonesia, the yellow sardine is now widely distributed in the Indian-Western Pacific region. Its spawning season is usually between spring and summer, and it is a batch spawning. After spawning, the fish will disperse and look for food. Yellow sardines can be used as edible fish, but because its meat has a strong fishy smell, it is usually suitable for consumption after drying.

4. Cho's sardine (metallic luster on the body surface, Western Indian Ocean)

Cho's sardine is a typical small and medium-sized fish that migrates along the nearshore mid- and upper layers. It is mainly distributed in the Western Indian Ocean, from India to Sri Lanka. It can also be found in Madagascar and Mauritius, and is also distributed in the South China Sea. As one of the common sardines, the body length of the small sardine is about 3.2 to 3.9 times the body height, the head length is 4.0 to 4.5 times the body length, and the head length is about 3.2 times the snout length. Its body is elongated and laterally flattened, with ridged scales on the abdomen, covered with round scales on the body, and no lateral line.

The biggest feature of the small sardine is that its skin is rich in purine crystals, making the fish body shine in the sun like metal. Although the small sardine has some fishy smell, it is not pungent, the meat is tender and juicy, and the delicate taste makes people enjoy it very much.

5. Golden Sardines (body length 13-17cm, Atlantic Ocean/Mediterranean Sea/Red Sea)

Golden Sardines are a species of Sardines in the family Herringidae. Although they are small in size, they usually appear in groups, so they have high economic value. Golden Sardines are cylindrical, slightly flattened, with a body length of between 129 and 168 mm, and are covered with hexagonal scales. The back of the body is turquoise, with a light yellow glossy longitudinal band on the upper side of the body, and the abdomen is white. The dorsal and caudal fins are light yellow with black edges, while the pectoral fins are slightly light yellow.

Golden sardines are widely distributed in the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea and other waters. They are also distributed in my country's South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the East China Sea. They live in warm waters. As the water temperature rises, they often migrate from the deep sea to the nearshore for feeding and spawning.

6. Hualien Sardines (Adipose eyelids/covering the eyes, Taiwan/Hong Kong, China)

Hualien Sardines are named because they are mainly produced in Hualien, Taiwan. They are distributed in the western Pacific region, especially in the eastern waters of Taiwan, and can also be seen in the waters as far south as Hong Kong. Hualien Sardines are elongated and laterally flattened, with a slightly rounded abdomen, covered with ridged scales, and well-developed adipose eyelids that almost completely cover the eyes. Its dorsal fin is light yellow with a black spot at the base of the front end, and its caudal fin is light yellow. The upper and lower lobes may have black edges, and there is a large black spot at the end of the caudal fin. The pectoral fin is light yellow, and the other fins are light in color.

Hualien Sardines mainly feed on plankton, such as diatoms, copepods and other small invertebrates. Due to its small distribution area and not abundant production, it is usually mixed with bottom trawling catches and can be sold as fresh fish or dried or pickled.

7. Blacktail Sardines (caudal fin with black spots, tropical waters of the Indo-West Pacific)

Blacktail Sardines are not only delicious, but also rich in nutrition, and are deeply loved by diners. It is mainly distributed in the tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean, including the coastal waters south, north and west of Taiwan. The black-tailed sardine has a strong adaptability to low water temperatures, and often uses warm currents to go north to forage in areas where cold and warm currents meet.

It is a carnivorous fish that mainly feeds on zooplankton. When facing natural enemies, the black-tailed sardines will quickly gather into groups, and when large predators approach, they will disperse into small groups to escape. The black-tailed sardine has a slightly spindle-shaped body, with almost equal lengths of upper and lower jaws, well-developed lipid eyelids, bright silver-white body color, relatively dark back, and easy-to-fall scales. Its abdomen is slightly flattened and has sharp ridge scales. The most notable feature is that its tail fin is forked, and there are obvious black spots at the ends of the upper and lower lobes.

8. Humpback Sardines (spots at the base of the dorsal fin/vertical lines on the sides of the body, Indo-West Pacific region)

Humpback Sardines, also known as Humpback Sardines, are one of the top ten sardines in the world. It has a moderate and slender body shape, with two rows of longitudinal scales on each side of the central ridgeline in front of the dorsal fin, and a distinct spot at the starting point of the base of the dorsal fin. There is a golden longitudinal line on the side of its body, and the body length can reach 17 cm, and the body height accounts for 24% to 30% of the standard body length.

This sardine is distributed in the Indo-West Pacific region, including the Persian Gulf, East Africa, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea and other places. Humpback sardines are schooling fish with strong mobility. They usually gather with other fish species of the same family to resist enemies. Although it can be eaten as fresh fish, it is usually made into dried fish or canned food for sale because of its strong meat smell.

9. White-bellied sardines (silver-white body sides and abdomen, Indo-West Pacific region)

White-bellied sardines belong to the family Herringidae of the order Herringiformes of the class Actinopterygii. They are small fish that migrate along the middle and upper layers of the nearshore sea. They are widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific region, west to the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and eastern Africa, east to Indonesia and the Arafura Sea, north to Taiwan, and south to Papua New Guinea. In Taiwan, the white-bellied sardine is mainly distributed in the southern, western and Penghu waters, and sometimes enters estuaries, inner bays or lagoons to live.

The body of this sardine is covered with small and thin round scales, which are easy to fall off. The back of the body is green, and the lower side and abdomen are silvery white. Its dorsal fin, tail fin and pectoral fin are light yellow. Like most sardines, the white-bellied sardine has tender meat, delicious taste and unique flavor. It is a very popular seafood ingredient.

10. Blue-scaled Sardines (Annual production of 10,000-50,000 tons, China/Japan/Southeast Asia)

Blue-scaled Sardines are one of the most common sardines in the world, with an annual production of between 10,000 and 50,000 tons. The body of the blue-scaled Sardines is nearly rectangular, flat and high, with a slightly raised dorsal edge and sharp ridges on the abdomen. Its back is blue-brown, the sides and abdomen are silvery white, there is a black spot on the upper corner of the gill cover, the area around the mouth is also black, and the fins are grayish white.

This fish is mainly distributed along the coasts of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea in my country, and is also distributed in the southeastern coastal areas. The main distribution areas abroad include the Pacific Ocean south of Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and the coast of the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia.

The top ten types of sardines are based on the characteristics and popularity of common sardines, and combined with other related rankings/lists on the Internet for comprehensive ranking recommendations. They are for reference only. If you have any questions, please comment/communicate at the end.

animal tags： sardines