GREATER SANDEEL | In the Faroe Islands the Greater Sandeel is only caught by some few sea anglers and is not used for industrial use, as it is in a lot of other countries. The Greater Sandeel has a dark spot on either side of its snout in front of its eyes. The Greater Sandeel has teeth appearing as a single bicuspid tooth. It has 53-60 dorsal rays, anal rays 27-32; pectoral fins 27-32% of head length, and not reaching level of first dorsal fin ray. Plicae 165-195. Vertebrae 65-69.

SIZE | The Greater Sandeel may become 40 cm long.

DEPTH | It breeds inshore, including the inter-tidal zone and estuaries, and offshore to about 60 meters depth. Commonly associated with Ammodytes species, but probably less gregarious.

COLOUR | A conspicuous dark spot (a little less than eye diameter) on either side of the snout; black green/blue (juveniles often distinctly greenish when mixed with Ammodytes species).

CHARACTERISTICS | The two dark spots (a little less than eye diameter) on either side of the snout.

FOOD | Initially zooplankton, but for lengths greater than 10-15 cm small fish such as clupeids and ammodytids dominate the diet.

REPRODUCTION | Summer batch spawner; ripe adults occurring March-August.

WHERE TO CATCH IT | The Greater Sandeel breeds in eastern North Atlantic from eastern Murman and Spitzbergen to Portugal including Iceland and much of the Baltic. Not recorded from Mediterranean and Barents Seas