Habitat: Pelagic
Main role: Prey
Trophic level: 3
IUCN Red List Assessment: Least Concern
Diet: They primarily feed on planktonic organisms, and additionally consume Fish Eggs and Larvae and Small Invertebrates.
Threats: Highly commercial and therefore targeted by fisheries. Sprats are caught by various trawl gear and seine nets and are often preserved by smoking. Young sprats are marketed as whitebait. Nevertheless, a larger portion of the global catch is allocated for the fishmeal industry.
In the North Sea, the European Sprat (Sprattus sprattus) is a small, schooling fish species that plays a significant ecological role. It feeds on small zooplankton and is important for fish and seabirds. In the North Sea, eggs and larvae are found almost year-round. Sprat has a short life cyce, and the spawning stock is dominated by 1-2 year-old fish. Sprats primarily inhabit the pelagic zone, which means they live in the open water rather than close to the sea floor.
In the North Sea Edition Sprat is included in the Sandeel layer. For more information about the interaction of this layer within the MSP Challenge go to the Sandeel information page.
The layer "Sandeel" includes both Sandeel and Sprat for the MSP Challenge North Sea Edition. Sandeel is a month-by-month, computer generated data layer following calculations made by the ecosystem simulation (EwE). For more information on how Ecopath-with-Ecosim (EwE) works, please visit our Wiki page or visit the official EwE website at https://ecopath.org.
For detailed information on how the simulation works for the North Sea Edition, we recommend further exploring our research publication called "Combining ecosystem modeling with serious gaming in support of transboundary maritime spatial planning".
The Baltic Sea is home to subspecies of the European Sprat (Sprattus sprattus) called the Baltic Sprat (Sprattus sprattus balticus). This subspecies is adapted to the lower salinity levels of the Baltic Sea and have a unique genetic profile. It feeds on small zooplankton and is important for fish and seabirds. In the North Sea, eggs and larvae are found almost year-round. During the last two decades, in the upper trophic level of the Central Baltic Sea ecosystem a shift from a cod-dominated (Gadus morhua callarias) to a sprat-dominated system was observed. This is due to the overfishing of Baltic Cod there is less predation pressure allowing their population to increase.
In the Baltic Sea the Sprat is prey for Seals and Cod. They avoid Surface Disturbance and noise and are caught though Pelagic Catch fishing and Active Demersal Catch fishing.
Sprat is a month-by-month, computer generated data layer following calculations made by the ecosystem simulation (EwE). For more information on how Ecopath-with-Ecosim (EwE) works, please visit our Wiki page or visit the official EwE website at https://ecopath.org.
For detailed information on how the simulation works for the Baltic Sea Edition, we recommend further exploring our research publication called "Foodweb modeling in the Maritime Spatial Planning Challenge Simulation Platform: Results from the Baltic Sea Region"
Not applicable. This layer is not yet available in the MSP Challenge Clyde Marine Region Edition.
Not applicable. This layer is not yet available in the MSP Challenge Adriatic Sea Edition.
Not applicable. This layer is not yet available in the MSP Challenge Eastern Mediterranean Sea Edition.
Co-funded by the European Union.