the anchovy is a good food source for almost every predatory fish in its environment, including the california halibut, rock fish, yellowtail, sharks, chinook, and coho salmon. it is also extremely important to marine mammals and birds; for example, california brown pelicans and elegant terns. the breeding success of these birds is strongly connected to anchovy abundance. as time progresses and the anchovy population drops, the population of the predatory species are also expected to decline.