 |
| Night smelt | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Osmeriformes |
| Family: | Osmeridae |
| Genus: | Spirinchus |
| Species: | S. starksi |
| Binomial name | |
| Spirinchus starksi (Fisk, 1913) | |
Night smelt (Spirinchus starksi) is a true smelt of the family Osmeridae. It is native to the Pacific coast of North America.
Night smelt are similar in appearance to the longfin smelt (Sprinchus thaleichthys). The maximum length of night smelt is 9 inches. They are bright golden to silvery in color, and give off the distinctive odour of cucumber.
The night smelt spawns nocturnally, in the surf zone, over coarse sand beaches, from Point Arguello in central California to southeast Alaska. Spawning generally occurs from February through August.
Night smelt are not to be confused with the California grunion (Leuresthes tenuis), an unrelated silverside that also spawns in the surf at night.
There is a minor commercial fishery for night smelt over much of its range but night smelt catch is often sold as "whitebait" or "smelt" in local markets.
Recreationally, night smelt are caught in the surf zone by dip net, A-frame net or (rarely) by hook and line.
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Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer, uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable for surfing are primarily found on ocean shores, but can also be found in standing waves in the open ocean, in lakes, in rivers in the form of a tidal bore, or in wave pools.
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This is a glossary of terms used in fisheries, fisheries management and fisheries science.
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