Pacific sardine

Natural history

Watching a school of sardines move, twisting and turning in near unison, is mesmerizing. But how do they do it? Although they may appear to be swimming together in a choreographed routine, sardines don’t actually move as one unit. Instead, each fish needs only to coordinate with its neighbors. In the blink of an eye, sardines use visual cues and sensing organs called neuromasts to coordinate their moves—appearing as though they had it planned all along.

Conservation

It's been a boom and bust history for the Pacific sardine fishery. During the 1920s through the 1940s, sardines were the most important and largest commercial fishery in California: annual yields peaked at 700,000 metric tons in 1936 and 1937.

However, under high demand for canned fish, fish meal and oil, this species was fished to the point of commercial extinction. A commercial harvest moratorium was enforced from 1967 to 1986. Due to strict fisheries management, Pacific sardine populations began to recover in the 1980s and populations are closely monitored today. The commercial fishing of Pacific sardines is regulated and allowances fluctuate based on population trends.

Cool facts

• Sardines are an important part of the open water food web. Many birds, marine mammals and other fishes eat sardines as a mainstay of their diets.
• The Monterey Bay Aquarium is located on the site of what was once a sardine cannery on Cannery Row! Named for the sardine processing companies that once lined the street, Cannery Row was made famous by John Steinbeck’s novel of the same name.
• Along the West Coast, the population of Pacific sardines is considered to consist of three subpopulations. The largest population ranges from Baja California to Alaska; an additional southern subpopulation is found off the coast of Baja California; and a third subpopulation is found in the Gulf of California. Studies conclude no genetic differences among the geographically different groups.