SMELT (Osmerus eperlanus; Fr. eperlan; Scotch sparling or spirling)  , the common small European fish of the genus Osmerus, family Salmonidae . It breeds, unless land-locked, in salt or brackish water, and though it often enters rivers it does not ascend beyond tidal influence . Like other British Salmonids it spawns in winter . The true smelt inhabits the coasts of northern and central Europe, and allied species are known from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America (Osmerus mordax, 0. thaleichthys, 0 . Japonicus) .