The European sprat

The European sprat 

Sprattus sprattus a.k.a bristling, brisling, garvie, garvock, Russian sardine, russlet, skipper or whitebait, is a species of small marine fish in the Clupeidae herring. Found in European waters, it has silver grey scales and white-grey flesh. The specific seas in which the species occurs include the Irish Sea, the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Hebrid Sea.This fish has significant changes in population size, particularly in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. 

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These may be due in part to the increasing dominance of the comb jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi, which in turn may be associated with an increase in sea temperature. Commercial fisheries landings in the Mediterranean and the Black Seas fell in the 1990s, but recovered in the next decade. The population size and trend of this fish is unknown and the conservation status of this fish can not be assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, listing it as deficient.

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