whitebait

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

• n. The young of various fishes, especially the herring, considered a delicacy when fried.
• n. Any of various similar or related small edible fishes.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

• n. The young of various species of fish, especially herrings, sprats or smelts, served deep fried as a starter or snack

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English

• n. The young of several species of herrings, especially of the common herring, esteemed a great delicacy by epicures in England.
• n. A small translucent fish (Salanx Chinensis) abundant at certain seasons on the coasts of China and Japan, and used in the same manner as the European whitebait.

from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

• n. A name used in New Zealand for the young fry of Galaxias attenuatus, a fish of the family Galaxidæ; also the young of the New Zealand smelt, Retropinna Richardsonii.
• n. A small clupeoid fish, prized as a delicacy in England.
• n. A Chinese salmonoid fish, Salanx sinensis. See Salanx.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• n. minnows or other small fresh- or saltwater fish (especially herring); usually cooked whole
• n. the edible young of especially herrings and sprats and smelts