Sardine

Sardine and pilchard are terms for various small, oily fish in the herring family Clupeidae, with the name ‘sardine’ possibly originating from the Italian island of Sardinia. The distinction between sardine and pilchard varies regionally, with the UK classifying sardines as young pilchards. There is no strict definition, but one criterion suggests fish under 15 cm are sardines, while larger ones are pilchards. The FAO/WHO Codex standard for canned sardines lists 21 species under the term, while FishBase recognizes multiple species as both sardines and pilchards.