Smelt

Smelt are small, slender fish of the family Osmeridae, found in cold coastal and freshwater regions of the North Atlantic, North Pacific, Europe, North America and Northeast Asia. Most species stay under about 20 centimeters long, and many are anadromous, spending their adult lives in salt water before running upriver in large schools to spawn. Smelt are widely eaten: North American anglers traditionally ice-fish or hand-net them for pan-frying or deep-frying, Japanese cooks grill whole smelt known as shishamo, prized when full of roe, and the roe itself, called masago, is used in sushi. Some populations, including the Delta smelt of California, have declined sharply enough to gain formal protection.