European sprats

European sprat (Sprattus sprattus) is a small schooling pelagic species whose strongest commercial identity is tied to the Baltic Sea, even though it is distributed more widely in European waters. In the Baltic, sprat is managed as a single stock across subdivisions 22-32. For 2025, the TAC was set at 139,500 tonnes, down from 201,000 tonnes in 2024, while actual catches in 2024 were about 240,000 tonnes. The largest catches in 2024 were taken by Poland, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, and Latvia, which confirms its role as one of the region’s true high-volume pelagic workhorses.

From a product perspective, sprat is valued mainly in smoked and canned form, with commercial fish typically ranging from 6 to 13 cm. It is also marketed fresh and frozen, but its strongest product identity remains in canning and smoking, especially in Northern and Eastern Europe. At the same time, substantial volumes are processed into fishmeal and oil, which gives sprat a strong feed protein raw material role alongside its food market presence.

In market terms, sprat is best positioned as an industrial pelagic species with a strong canning tradition. It does not trade on prestige, but on efficiency, consistency, and suitability for further processing. That combination keeps it commercially important both as a consumer product and as a raw material for broader seafood and feed industries