More than 20 different species within the Engraulidae family are marketed under the name anchovy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Fish List recognizes five genus groups: Anchoa, Anchoviella, Cetengraulis, Engraulis and Stolephorus. The anchovy best known in culinary circles is Engraulis encrasicolus, the European or “true” anchovy, found in the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and warmer waters of the East Atlantic. Its North American counterpart, E. mordax, aka northern or California anchovy, ranges off the West Coast from Mexico to British Columbia. Silvery fish with blue-green backs, anchovies are tiny; maximum length is 8 inches. They favor warmer waters around the globe, swimming in huge schools that feed on algae and zooplankton. They are caught by deepwater trawlers, and the majority of the catch is canned, salted, turned into paste or distilled to make the Southeast Asian fish sauces like the Vietnamese nuoc mam. Anchovies are often confused with sardines, which in America are actually small herring.