middling thread herring
Opisthonema medirastre
Pacific thread herring that lives near the coast and forms schools. It has little commercial value and is sometimes used as bait.
Also called: sardinha-de-fio-média, pinchagua mediana, pinchagua, machuelo de hebra mediana, middling thread herring
- maximum
- 30 cm
- depth
- 0–50 m
who is the middling thread herring
A sardine of the family Dorosomatidae, with a moderately deep, compressed body and two fleshy bumps on the rear edge of the gill slit. It reaches 30 cm, and its common size is 20 cm without the tail. The last dorsal fin ray is a long filament, a trait of the genus. It occurs from Los Angeles, United States, to Sechura Bay, Peru, usually near the coast, in schools living down to 50 m deep. It eats small crustaceans and pteropods. It has little commercial value and is sometimes used as bait.
Essential profile. Identification, where it occurs and rules, with data from FishBase and the cited regulations. Season, time of day, technique and bait are added once we have a good source for the middling thread herring; in the meantime, see the similar species.
identification
Sardine of moderately deep, compressed body, with a greenish-grey back and silvery-white flanks. It has a dark spot behind the gill slit, followed by a yellow band on the flank, marks that help tell it apart from the thread herrings of the region. On the same coast, the Pacific thread herring (Opisthonema libertate) and the slender thread herring (Opisthonema bulleri) are of the same genus and live in the same place.
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Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
Essential profile: the index uses a general fish model (weather, sun, moon and tide), without a season or time of day specific to this species.
where found
Latin American Pacific coast, from Mexico to Peru, in coastal waters.
Habitat: Near the coast, in schools, in shallow waters down to 50 m deep.
rules for the middling thread herring
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.
catch and release
catch and release Releasing the fish alive, quickly and with a wet hand. During a closed season it isn't always allowed: what the regulation says applies.
Harmless. It is a schooling fish with delicate skin: handle it with a wet hand. Sometimes used as bait.
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.00794, b = 3.05; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa da própria espécie)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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sources and references
Essential profile: size, length-weight, depth, countries and conservation come from FishBase and the cited regulations, and the texts were written from those sources. Season, time of day, sensitivities, technique and baits and lures are not included yet, because we did not find a good source for this species.
- scientific FishBase: Opisthonema medirastre (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
- scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Opisthonema medirastreNames by country and language.
