![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/Puffin_%2528Fratercula_arctica%2529_with_lesser_sand_eels_%2528Ammodytes_tobianus%2529.jpg/640px-Puffin_%2528Fratercula_arctica%2529_with_lesser_sand_eels_%2528Ammodytes_tobianus%2529.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Sand eel
Common name for several species of fish / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Sand eel?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
SHOW ALL QUESTIONS
Sand eel or sandeel is the common name used for a considerable number of species of fish. While they are not true eels, they are eel-like in their appearance and can grow up to 30 cm (12 in) in length.[1] Many species are found off the western coasts of Europe from Spain to Scotland, and in the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas.
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/Puffin_%28Fratercula_arctica%29_with_lesser_sand_eels_%28Ammodytes_tobianus%29.jpg/640px-Puffin_%28Fratercula_arctica%29_with_lesser_sand_eels_%28Ammodytes_tobianus%29.jpg)
Sand eels are an important food source for seabirds, including puffins and kittiwakes. They are a commercially important for the production of fish meal and made up 4% of fish globally caught for fish-meal production (behind anchovy, capelin, and blue whiting) between 1997 and 2001.[2]