11
3.4.1 Sardinella aurita
Source: Froese and Pauly, 2002
Commonly called the Round Sardinella, this species belongs to the order Clupeiformes of the family Clupeidae and the class Actinopterygii Plate 2.1.1. It is locally called ‘Eban’ or
‘Kankama’. It is usually found in marine pelagic waters of 0-350m depths especially in West Africa. It is distributed in subtropical climate 46°N-36°S that is in the Black and
Mediterranean Seas, in the Eastern Atlantic as well as in the Western Atlantic. Spawning occurs during the upwelling seasons. It is a highly schooling fish usually associated with the
inshore shelf area and having a diurnal migratory feeding pattern. Its typical diet is mainly composed of zooplankton and copepods. It is classified by the FAO as highly commercial
and used locally for food as well as for live-bait in tuna fishing in CECAF. The size distribution in Ghana has been estimated as 5-15cm for the beach seine and 18cm for the ring
net Anakwah and Santos, 2002. It is fished mainly by beach seines and to some extent, poly operators during the two main seasons, July to September main and for about three weeks in
JanuaryFebruary. These fish are believed to be sensitive to changes in temperature and salinity Koranteng, 1999.
3.4.2 Sardinella maderensis
Source: Froese and Pauly, 2002
The flat Sardinella as it is usually called belongs also to the class Actinopterygii and Order Clupeiformes of the Clupeid family Plate 2.1.2. To the local people, it is ‘Antebo’, druku’
or ‘Antar’. It is also a marine pelagic of the tropical Eastern Atlantic from Ola. It thrives at a depth of 80m and below by feeding on fish larvae and plankton. Breeding occurs in the warm
season July to September and it is used locally. There is a strong schooling behavior in coastal waters of 24
o
C with diurnal migration for a diet of fish larvae and zooplankton. Their movements are also correlated with seasonal upwelling Froese and Pauly, 2002. It is also on
the FAO list of highly commercial species and seems to be more tolerable to changes in temperature and salinity than S. aurita Mensah and Koranteng 1988.
12
3.4.3 Engraulis encrasicolus
Kategori