Whitebait Synonyms

Donovan, in his Natural History of British Fishes (1802-1808), misled by specimens sent to him as whitebait, declared it to be the young of the shad.

At Greenwich an annual banquet of cabinet ministers, known as the whitebait dinner, formerly took place.

Formerly whitebait was supposed to be a distinct species of fish.

Yarrell proved conclusively that Donovan's opinion was founded upon an error; unfortunately he contented himself with comparing whitebait with the shad only, and in the end adopted the opinion of the Thames fishermen, whose interest it was to represent it as a distinct adult form; thus the whitebait is introduced into Yarrell's History of British Fishes (1836) as Clupea alba.

The Thames being unequal to the supply of the large demand for this delicacy, large quantities of whitebait are now brought to London and other markets from many parts of the coast.