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