Name: Goldstripe Sardinella
Local name: Ooma
Scientific name: Sardinella gibbosa
Classification: Class: ray-finned fishes; Order: herrings; Family: herrings and sardines (Clupeidae)
Synonym: Sardinella jussieui
Size: It commonly reaches 15 cm in total length, the maximum length being 21 cm.
The Goldstripe Sardinella forms schools in coastal waters and is abundant in many areas. It feeds on phytoplankton and zooplankton, mainly larvae of crustaceans and mollusks.
This species is widely distributed in the tropical and warm temperate Indo-West Pacific, from East Africa to Indonesia, north to Taiwan and Korea, and south to Australia.
The Goldstripe Sardinella has not yet been assessed globally by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In a recent regional assessment for the Arabian Gulf it was classified as Least Concern (LC). It is caught by seines and gillnet, and usually market fresh.
The body is moderately elongate and the mouth terminal. The belly has a sharp keel and 32 to 34 scutes. Vertical striae on the scales do not meet at the center. It is blue dorsally and silvery below, sometimes with a golden mid-lateral line. Dorsal and caudal fin margins are dusky and there is a black spot at dorsal fin origin.