Chapter 13

A World Without

Menhaden

“Animals, whom we have made our slaves, we do not like to

consider our equal.”

- Charles Darwin

The sound of the waves crashing on the shore, the salty breeze

and warmth of the sun kissing your skin; these among others are just a

few of the reasons why people gravitate to the beach. Tourists, surfers,

children, and adults look forward to splashing and swimming in the

water and burying their toes in the wet sand. Many people aren’t

aware as to what exactly is swimming around their ankles. Thousands

of aquatic species are a part of the vast ecosystem of the Ocean.

Without certain species, the ecosystem would struggle and could

potentially fail. In previous chapters of this book we have learned

about the Chesapeake Bay, water pollution, and a few specific species

that are heavily affected by human interaction. In this chapter, we will

focus on a single species, the most important fish in the sea, the

Menhaden.

Menhaden have played an important role throughout history

beginning with the first settlements and the pilgrims. When John Cabot

discovered the new world in 1497, he also discovered a fish that would

end up being one of the most useful substances to humanity. Many

believe that the menhaden was the fish that the American Indian

Squanto taught the pilgrims to use as fertilizer for their crops.

The Indians named this fish “munnawhatteaug” which directly

translates to “fertilizer” or “he who

enriches the land.” “What they meant by

tat was simple: used in modest

subsistence farming, the fish bequeathed

its rich nutrients to the soil. They could

hardly have imagined the scene two

centuries later, when the fish they had

named ‘he enriches the land’ would be converted by the billions into

industrial commodities and personal wealth.” (Franklin)

Atlantic menhaden form an important link in the Chesapeake Bay food

web. The small fish form large schools and are harvested commercially for

bait and for an industry that uses them to produce fishmeal and fish oil.i

(Chesapeake Bay Program) Menhaden are flat, have soft flesh, and a deeply

forked tail. They rarely exceed 15 inches (38 cm) in length, and have a

varied weight range. Gulf menhaden and Atlantic menhaden are small oily-

fleshed fish, bright silver, and characterized by a series of smaller spots

behind the main, humeral spot.ii (Wikipedia) Menhaden travel in large, slow-

moving, and tightly-packed schools with open mouths. Filter feeders typically

take into their open mouths "materials in the same proportions as they occur

in ambient waters". Menhaden have two main sources of food:

phytoplankton and zooplankton. A menhaden’s diet varies considerably over

the course of its lifetime, and is directly related to its size. The smallest

Figure 1

menhaden, typically those under one year old, eat primarily phytoplankton.

After that age, adult menhaden gradually shift to a diet comprised almost

exclusively of zooplankton.iii (Wikipedia)

Menhaden play a very large role in not only the aquatic the food chain,

but also the food chain on land. Very similar to oysters, menhaden help filter

the water of toxins and other pollutants. Without filtering species, our

waters would be over-nourished causing things like algae-blooms. An algal

bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in

freshwater or marine water systems, and are recognized by the discoloration

in the water from their pigments.[2] Cyanobacteria blooms are often called

blue-green algae. Blooms which can injure animals or the ecology are called

"harmful algal blooms" (HAB), and can lead to fish die-offs, cities cutting off

water to residents, or states having to close fisheries.iv(Wikipedia)

Atlantic menhaden are an important link between plankton and upper

level predators. Because of their filter feeding abilities, "menhaden consume

and redistribute a significant amount of energy within and between

Chesapeake Bay and other estuaries, and the coastal ocean." Because they

play this role, and their abundance, menhaden are an invaluable prey

species for many predatory fish, such as striped bass, bluefish, mackerel,

flounder, tuna, Drum (fish), and sharks. They are also a very important food

source for many birds, including egrets, ospreys, seagulls, northern gannets,

pelicans, and herons.v (Wikipedia) Hundreds of millions of pounds of the

menhaden fish are processed annually, making them the number one

species fished for in the United States. Not only do they provide food for

marine life, but they also provide a substantial amount of protein or dogs

and cats. “Their dried-out carcasses are then pulverized, scooped into huge

piles, containerized, and shipped out as feed for domestic cats and dogs,

farmed fish, and, most of all, poultry and pigs.”vi(Franklin) The menhaden’s

primary use in today’s world is for Omega-3 pills. Omega Protein has

developed a complete

line of premium,

sustainable, omega-3

rich fish oil to improve

the nutritional integrity

of aquaculture,

livestock and

companion animal

feed. Omega-3 fatty

acids may provide a

number of health and performance benefits. These essential nutrients

improve immune response, support reproductive function, and reduce

inflammation to improve overall health and performance.vii(Omega Protein)

Menhaden reduction industry has become one of the largest corporate

competitions in today’s world. Industrial fishing has become an enormous

Figure 2

problem in the world as of today. The menhaden population is quickly

depleting over time due to over-exploitation.

A very common way of harvesting menhaden is by a purse seine. A

purse seine is a large wall of netting deployed around an entire area or

school of fish. The seine has floats along the top line with a lead line

threaded through rings along the bottom. Once a school of fish is located, a

skiff encircles the school with the net. The lead line is then pulled in,

"pursing" the net closed on the bottom, preventing fish from escaping by

swimming downward. The catch is harvested by either hauling the net

aboard or bringing it alongside the vessel.viii(NOAA Fisheries) Not only does

the purse seine capture hundreds of menhaden, it can also catch things like

dolphins or sea turtles. Fishing companies will throw back the injured marine

life to the se without a thought as to if they will be able to survive further.

This way of fishing is also very unfair to the fish being as there is no possible

way for them to escape it. Purse Seining is very inhumane and cruel and we

should work to make it illegal for large fishing corporations.

Lee Crockett

of The Pew

Charitable Trusts

writes “Anglers

like me are often

impressed with

size. We seek out

the largest fish,

revel in stories

about the “big

one” that got away, and proudly display photos of our most impressive

catches. But it’s a small, unassuming fish, the Atlantic menhaden, which

forms the backbone of ecosystems and economies along the East Coast of

the United States. Unfortunately, after decades of poorly regulated fishing,

menhaden are in serious trouble.”ix Many organizations like Lee’s are

working tirelessly to build awareness to the importance of the menhaden and

the serious effects that its eventual extinction would have on certain

ecosystems and our food chain as a whole. It is very important that people

begin to open their eyes to the problem that is at hand.

One may ask what laws are in place currently to try to prevent the

extinction of menhaden. The Atlantic menhaden fishery is managed by the

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC) Atlantic Menhaden

Management Board, which tracks and regulates harvest under Amendment 2

to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic menhaden. In May

2015, the Board approved a total allowable catch (TAC) of 187,880 metric

tons per year for 2015 and 2016 for the entire Atlantic Coast, including the

Chesapeake Bay.x(NOAA) Fisheries are expected to close when they have

reached the amount allowed and will be fined and potentially shut down if

caught. It’s time for people to realize damage quickly being done to our

waters as a result of loss of menhaden. We could potentially witness the loss

of a great species in our lifetime due to human interaction. Contact your

legislature and local businesses to see what they can do to help. Together,

we can save this spectacular species.

Bibliography

i Program, Chesapeake Bay. "Chesapeake Bay Program." Bay Blog RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.ii "Menhaden." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.iii Ibid.iv "Algal Bloom." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.v Ibid.vi Franklin, H. Bruce. The Most Important Fish in the Sea: Menhaden and America. Washington: Island/Shearwater, 2007. Print. page 6vii "Leading Producer of Menhaden Fish Oil- Omega Protein." Omega Protein. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.viii "Purse Seine: Fishing Gear and Risks to Protected Species." NOAA Fisheries. N.p., n.d. Web.ix "Overfishing 101: A Small Fish With Big Problems – National ..." N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Nov. 2016.x Administrator, and Blue Water Media, Inc., (202)861-0000, Www.bluewatermedia.com. "Menhaden - Fish Facts - Chesapeakebay.noaa.gov." Menhaden - Fish Facts - Chesapeakebay.noaa.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.

Figure 1 https://www.google.com/search?q=squanto+and+menhaden&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS678US678&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=592&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjzy8H7h5jQAhVLw4MKHb5jCaIQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=qo6TBs1niMR9KM%3AFigure 2https://www.google.com/search?q=omega+3+menhaden&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS678US678&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=592&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwif_OG5hpjQAhWl3YMKHcTWBoIQ_AUICCgD#imgrc=v5PM1s_cDIqxEM%3AFigure 3 https://www.google.com/search?q=purse+seining&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS678US678&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=592&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjSkIqih5jQAhVDzIMKHYnEBw4Q_AUIBygC#imgrc=4sfpfp7WwnpWFM%3A