This work was carried out on sardines (Sardinella aurita) a species from seawater of Brazil, in order to study the seasonal variation of the total lipid content and the absorption of salt during the brine processing before canning and to select the best brine to make preserves when the fishes are lean or fat. The fishes were analysed monthly during a year on their total dipid amount and preserved with three different concentration of brines: 10, 20 and 30%. The canned fishes were kept at room temperature until sensorial analyses were performed. The amount of NaCl absorved was correlated with the total lipid amount both in fresh and canned fishes. The salt in the final products was inversely influenced by the total lipids in the fish meat.