An Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) with its beak full of sand eels (Ammodytes tobianus)
Sand eel or sandeel is the common name used for a considerable number of species of fish. While they are not true eels, they are eel-like in their appearance and can grow up to 30 cm (12 in) in length.[1] Many species are found off the western coasts of Europe from Spain to Scotland, and in the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas.
Sand eels are an important food source for seabirds, including puffins and kittiwakes. They are a commercially important for the production of fish meal and made up 4% of fish globally caught for fish-meal production (behind anchovy, capelin, and blue whiting) between 1997 and 2001.[2]
^"Sandeel". NatureScot. Retrieved 2020-11-16. Sandeels are small eel-like fish which grow up to 30 cm in length and can often be found in vast shoals. They feed primarily on plankton of variable size, ranging from small plankton eggs up to larger energy rich copepods found in great abundance in Scotland's seas. Some species of sandeel can live for as long as 10 years, reaching maturity at around 2 years of age.
^Huntington, T.; C. Frid; R. Banks C. Scott; O. Paramor (2004-02-10). 'Assessment of the Sustainability of Industrial Fisheries Producing Fish Meal and Fish Oil'. Report to RSPB (PDF) (Report). Poseidon Aquatic Resource Management Ltd. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
Sandeel or sandeel is the common name used for a considerable number of species of fish. While they are not true eels, they are eel-like in their appearance...
There are two species of eel named sharpnose sandeel: Apterichtus flavicaudus Ichthyapus acuticeps This page is an index of articles on animal species...
The lesser sandeel or sand lance (Ammodytes tobianus) is a species of fish in the sand lance family Ammodytidae. It is an elongated cylindrical fish which...
The great sandeel (Hyperoplus lanceolatus) is the greater species of sandeel. The maximum size is 35 centimetres (14 in). The great sandeel has an elongated...
Common names for this fish include mousefish, ratfish, sandfish, and sandeel. Gonorynchus gonorynchus inhabits the coasts of the southern third of Africa...
Rhinomuraena. The ribbon eel is found in sand burrows and reefs in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. Although generally placed in the moray eel family Muraenidae, it...
A sand lance or sandlance is a fish belonging to the family Ammodytidae. Several species of sand lances are commonly known as "sandeels", though they...
The Vulture sandeel (Ichthyapus vulturis, also known as the Vulture eel) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by...
into sand, mud, or amongst rocks. Most eel species are nocturnal, and thus are rarely seen. Sometimes, they are seen living together in holes or "eel pits"...
at a higher rate than in other eel species. This allows sand granules to adhere to the sides of their burrows in sand-dwelling morays, thus making the...
mackerel China: various species Denmark: pout, sandeel, sprat European Union: pout, capelin, sandeel, and mackerel Iceland and Norway: capelin, herring...
The sharpnose sandeel (Ichthyapus acuticeps) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by Keppel Harcourt Barnard in 1923...
The smiling snake eel (Ichthyapus selachops, also known as the smiling sandeel) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described...
Gymnammodytes cicerelus, also known as Mediterranean sandeel, sonso in Catalan, and barrinaire or enfú in Menorca, is a fish in the family Ammodytidae...
variously known as the orange snake eel, sharpnose sandeel or sharpnose snake eel, is a species of snake eel native to the Indian Ocean from the Seychelles...
The smooth sandeel (Gymnammodytes semisquamatus) is a species of sandeel in the family Ammodytidae. It maximum length is 30 cm (12 in), typical adults...
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