Whitebait smelt (Allosmerus elongatus) is a saltwater species recorded in the United States. It is found at depths of 1–103 m.
Scientific name: Allosmerus elongatus · Water: Saltwater
Size: up to 22.9 cm
The whitebait smelt is a demersal osmerid that occurs in coastal waters and is abundant in bays, recorded from 1 to 103 m. It forms schools and is important food for larger fishes, and it spawns in subtidal banks. Maximum length is about 23 cm total length. It is a commercial species and a gamefish, with a low price category. Fishing vulnerability is low to moderate at 31 of 100 and resilience medium.
It is the only species in its genus. It was originally described twice, as Osmerus attenuatus and Osmerus elongatus, and the two were determined to be the same fish in 1946. It has large eyes, a greenish-grey back and a silver band running along the flanks, and adult males develop a longer anal fin than females. Unlike most other smelts, which have no enlarged teeth in the roof of the mouth, it carries a single large tooth at the centre of its vomer, sometimes flanked by a smaller tooth on either side. Its range runs from Vancouver Island to San Francisco, California, with one specimen taken as far south as San Pedro that may have been released as live bait. Some fishermen net it as bait, although overall the species has fairly little economic importance.
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