Clupeoid larvae (Engraulis encrasicolus, Sardina pilchardus, and Sardinella aurita) comprised 30% of all fish larvae collected over 2 years at two stations in the coastal waters of Israel near Haifa. Growth rates of these species, determined by analysis of daily growth increments of otoliths, were used with Checkley’s (1984) equation to calculate population ingestion rates. In 1984 and 1985, the calculated ingestion rates were 10-20% of annual primary production estimated from 14C uptake. Because growth rates did not vary greatly with season, population ingestion rates followed closely the seasonal patterns in abundance of larvae, with maxima in late spring and in fall.