It feeds on phytoplankton and fish larvae and is a pelagic, oceanodromous species that forms schools in coastal waters, often mixed with S. aurita.

These fish have a median number of gill rakers and their upper pectoral fin rays are white on the outer side with a black membrane in between.

They are very hard to distinguish from Sardinella aurita except that these fish have only 7 rays on their pelvic fins and no black spot on the hind part of their gill cover.

[4] These Sardinella can handle very low salinities when they travel into estuaries and lagoons and spend most of their lives near the surface of the water.

[3] The population of the Madeiran sardinella is declining as both it and S. aurita are being overexploited, with the average size of fish in the catch reducing.