The capelin, Mallotus villosus, is a small fish of the smelt family foun in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. In summer, it grazes on dense swarms of plankton at the edge of the ice shelf. Larger capelin also eats a great deal of krill and other crustaceans. Whales, seals, cod, squid, mackerel, beluga whales and seabirds all prey on capelin in particular during the spawning season of the capelin while it migrates southwards. Capelin spawns on sandy beaches and sandy bottom at the age of 2-6 years, and has an extremely high mortality rate on the beaches after spawning, for males close to 100% mortality.