The reason for not only allowing real sardines in cans is that the fish was overfished - especially around 1970 and 1980. The demand for sardines remained and that is why they started using herring in Canada, shad in Australia and anchovy in Peru. That became a bit confusing, so Norway, then the chairman of the FAO Codex Alimentarius Commission, decided to standardize it in 1981. If a fish other than Sardina pilchardus is put in the ‘sardines’ can, the producer must state the scientific name of the fish - or for example Canadian style sardine - in the ingredients. So if you can't find Sardina pilchardus on the can, you have the real thing.

Norway has been selling sprat worldwide as smoked Norwegian sardines, now called brisling sardines, for over a century. Around the year 1908 small herring were used as raw material for sardines and sold in Norway as “sildesardines” (herring sardines) till the end of the 1960s.

Following are the species of fish that currently are sold as canned sardines:

Sardina pilchardus	Alosidae	shads and sardines	European pilchard	Northeast Atlantic, Mediterranean
Sardinops sagax	Alosidae	shads and sardines	South American pilchard	southern Africa to eastern Pacific
Clupea harengus	Clupeidae	herrings and sprats	Atlantic herring	North Atlantic
Ethmidium maculatum	Clupeidae	herrings and sprats	Pacific menhaden	Southeast Pacific
Hyperlophus vittatus	Clupeidae	herrings and sprats	Sandy sprat	Western Australia to South Australia
Sprattus sprattus	Clupeidae	herrings and sprats	European sprat	Northeast Atlantic, northern Mediterranean
Strangomera bentincki	Clupeidae	herrings and sprats	Araucanian herring	Southeast Pacific
Etrumeus sadina	Dussumieriidae	round herrings	Red-eye round herring	Northwestern Atlantic
Nematalosa vlaminghi	Dorosomatidae	gizzard shads and sardinellas	Perth herring	endemic to Western Australia
Opisthonema oglinum	Dorosomatidae	gizzard shads and sardinellas	Atlantic thread herring	Western Atlantic
Sardinella aurita	Dorosomatidae	gizzard shads and sardinellas	Round sardinella	Atlantic, Mediterranean
Sardinella brasiliensis	Dorosomatidae	gizzard shads and sardinellas	Brazilian sardinella	Western Atlantic: Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, West Indies southward to Brazil and northern Uruguay
Sardinella gibbosa	Dorosomatidae	gizzard shads and sardinellas	Goldstripe sardinella	Indo-West Pacific: widespread including the Red Sea
Sardinella lemuru	Dorosomatidae	gizzard shads and sardinellas	Bali sardinella	Eastern Indian Ocean, Western Australia. Western Pacific
Sardinella longiceps	Dorosomatidae	gizzard shads and sardinellas	Indian oil sardine	Indian Ocean: northern and western parts only, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman
Sardinella maderensis	Dorosomatidae	gizzard shads and sardinellas	Madeiran sardinella	Atlantic Ocean: Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean, from Gibraltar southward to Angola
Engraulis anchoita	Engraulidae	anchovies	Argentine anchovy	Southwest Atlantic
Engraulis mordax	Engraulidae	anchovies	Californian anchovy	Northeast Pacific: northern Vancouver Island south to Cape San Lucas, Baja California, Mexico
Engraulis ringens	Engraulidae	anchovies	Anchoveta	Southeast Pacific: Aguja Point, Peru to Chiloé, Chile
In 2012 Dussumieriidae, and in 2022 Alosidae and Dorosomatidae were separated from Clupeidae (Herrings, shads, sardines, menhadens).
Sprattus sprattus was called Clupea sprattus up to the 1960s; Sardina pilchardus was called Clupea pilchardus up to the 1950s.

28 October, 2024

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