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Capelin
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Osmeriformes Family: Osmeridae Genus: Mallotus Species: M. villosus
Binomial name
Mallotus villosus Müller, 1776

This article is about the fish. For the plant genus, see Mallotus (plant).

The capelin, Mallotus villosus, is a small fish of the smelt family found in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. In summer, it grazes on dense swarms of plankton at the edge of the ice shelf. Larger capelin also eats a great deal of krill and other crustaceans. Whales, seals, cod, squid, mackerel and seabirds all prey on capelin in particular during the spawning season of the capelin while it migrates southwards. Capelin spawns on sandy beaches and sandy bottom at the age of 2-6 years, and has an extremely high mortality rate on the beaches after spawning, for males close to 100% mortality.

Capelin on an Icelandic coin.

Females reach 20 cm in length, while males are up to 25 cm long. They are olive-colored dorsally, shading to silver on sides. Males have a translucent ridge on both sides of their bodies. The ventral aspects of the females iridesce reddish at the time of spawn.

In years with large quantities of herring in the Barents Sea, capelin seems to be heavily affected. Probably both food competition and herring feeding on capelin larvae lead to collapses in the capelin stock.

Commercially capelin is used for fish meal and oil industry products, but is also appreciated as food. The flesh is agreeable in flavor, resembling herring. Capelin roe ("masago") is considered as a high value product, particularly in Japan.

Capelin is essential as the key food of the Atlantic cod. The North-East Atlantic Cod and Capelin fisheries therefore are managed by a multi-species approach developed by the main resource owners Norway and Russia.

In the province of Newfoundland in Canada, it is a regular summertime practice to go to the beach and scoop the capelin up in nets or whatever is available, as the capelin " roll in " in the millions each year at end of June or early July.

Distribution and migration of Icelandic capelin

Green shade: Feeding area of adults
Blue shade: Distribution of juveniles
Green arrows: Feeding migrations
Blue arrows: Return migrations
Red shade and Red arrows: Spawning migrations - Main spawning grounds and larval drift routes

Capelin moves inshore in large schools to spawn and migrates in spring and summer to feed in the plankton-rich oceanic area between Iceland, Greenland, and Jan Mayen. Capelin distribution and migration is linked with ocean currents and water masses. Around Iceland maturing capelin usually undertake extensive northward feeding migrations in spring and summer and the return migration takes place in September to November. The spawning migration starts from north of Iceland in December to January.

• Mallotus villosus (TSN 162035). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 11 March 2006.
• "Mallotus villosus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. 10 2005 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2005.
• Capelin off Iceland: Biology, exploitation and management
• This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 edition of The Grocer's Encyclopedia.