Sardine (lat. Sardina pilchardus) is a sea fish from the herring family (Clupeidae). In Croatia it is still

known as sardina, srđela, šardela, a štijavica or žir.

The sardine is a fish with an elongated body flattened on the hips. The upper part of the body is light pink, and in the lower part color becomes silvery. Along the hips stretches the blue color. There are a few black spots on the hips, and the star-like scar on the chin hubs. Her body is covered with rather large shells. The sardines grow up to 25 cm in length and 8 dkg in weight, while the average weight is about 3 dkg.

The sardine can be found in the eastern part of the Atlantic between Iceland and Senegal. It is common fish in the Mediterranean Sea, especially in the west of the Mediterranean, the Adriatic and the Black Sea.

Sardine is a pelagic fish, which means it is constantly on the move so there is no permanent residence or depth in which it lives. Its concentration in the Adriatic is the largest around the western coast of Istria, the Lošinj archipelago, to the east of the island of Olib, the island of Dugi otok, Paklinski otoci, Vis and Palagruža, and the southern coast of Pelješac and the islands of Mljet and Lastovo.