Sprat—found from the North of Europe to the Mediterranean.
Pilchard—ranges from the English Channel to Madeira and the Mediterranean. Skipper “sardines” are young herring, pilchard, and brisling.
There is also—
Mackerel—found from the North Sea to Madeira and the Mediterranean.
(3) The shallow-water of the seashore is inhabited by certain animals (shellfish) not found elsewhere, including various mollusca, e.g. mussel, cockle, oyster and periwinkle, and crustacea, e.g. lobster, crab, prawn, shrimp. In addition to these, there are various species of immature offshore fish, e.g. plaice and dabs. The inhabitants of this shallow, coastal water are called “littoral” fish. The distribution of such littoral fish depends not only upon the water temperature and the amount of light, but also upon the character of the shore—whether it is rocky, or soft and sandy—and more especially upon the animal and vegetable products of the adjacent land, e.g. plants, seaweed, worms. Littoral fish do not swim very far, but become scattered inadvertently over considerable distances by currents and other mechanical means.
Fig. 5
HERRING (Clupea harengus)
Length slightly above 12 ins.
Food.—Plankton (copepoda).
Range.—From the White Sea to the Bay of Biscay.
Certain kinds of shellfish, for example oysters, mussels, cockles, live in the sand or attached to the stones or seaweed on the seashore, generally between high and low watermarks. They obtain their food from the water as it streams over their gills. They require adequate room for growth and development, and constant irrigation by water containing sufficient floating food. When mussel beds or oyster beds become overcrowded, the fish are ill-nourished, their health is impaired and their growth is arrested. It has been shown that, if they are transferred to new beds, their condition rapidly improves and ultimately they increase considerably in size. All edible shellfish need systematic care and attention. Their cultivation by man affords the simplest instance of an attempt at a systematic aquiculture.