Whats So Great About Sandeels?

{Whats So Great About Sandeels? – Earth and Leaf Editorial}

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Have you ever seen a sandeel? Your initial instinct might be no — but if you’re familiar with Atlantic puffins (Fratercula arctica), then it’s highly likely that you have. After all, it’s one of their favourite food sources and you’ll often spot these shimmering silver fish in photographs, dangling from a puffin’s flamboyant bill.

But it’s not just puffins that enjoy feasting on them. Packed with protein and extremely nutritious, sandeels are preyed upon by a whole host of marine creatures including seabirds like black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) and terns (Sternidae), dolphins and porpoises, and economically important fish including pollack (Pollachius pollachius), Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and mackerel (Scombrus scombrus). These tiny fish even feed marine mammals as huge as humpback and minke whales, comprising as much as half of their diet!

Today’s link to our pages or posts . . .

Challenge to fishing ban a threat to seabirds – RSPB