Notes biométriques sur le sprat du golfe du lion (Clupea Sprattus Linné)

The sprat, found on all the European coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, and in adjacent seas, from Norway to the Tagus estuary, is also present in the northern part of the eastern Mediterranean Sea, from the Adriatic Sea to the Black Sea.While works on the sprat in the Atlantic and the North Sea are abundant, those in the Mediterranean Sea are rarer, but include publications by Fage (1920) and Furnestin (1948).Catches of this fish in the Gulf of Lion, especially between Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône and Collioure have increased considerably since 1961, when seine nets were put into use.These notes detail certain morphological characters, particularly those that vary with size. The present work also compares results obtained in the Gulf of Lion with those given by others in other geographic areas. This study was based on 300 individuals from 10.8 to 14.7 cm long, captured in the vicinity of Sète near Collioure during the winters of 1961 and 1962.