Sand Lance
Ammodytes species
Not Kosher
Description
Sand lances are small, slender fish eaten in some places, notably in Japan where the young (ikanago) are simmered in soy and sugar. Elsewhere they're used mostly as bait and forage.
Sand lances (family Ammodytidae, genus Ammodytes) are slim, eel-like fish found in the North Pacific, North Atlantic, and other oceans. Despite the 'eel' nicknames, they're true ray-finned fish, not eels, and they burrow into sand to escape currents and predators.
Also known as
- Sandeel
- Sand Eel
- Launce
- Ikanago
Sand Lance in foreign languages
| Scientific | Ammodytes species |
| Hebrew | צלופחול |
| Arabic | رمالة |
| Russian | Песчанки |
| Chinese | 玉筋鱼属 |
Warnings & Kosher Issues
- Kosher status is debated. Sand lances do have cycloid scales, but they're minute and embedded in thick skin, and kosher authorities have questioned whether such tiny scales count as kaskeses (true scales) under Jewish law. This source marks it non-kosher, so treat it as questionable and check with a reliable kosher authority.
- They look eel-like and are nicknamed 'sand eel,' but they're not eels. The kosher question is about the scales, not the eel-like shape.