Menhaden

"Pogy" redirects here. For the United States Navy submarines of that name, see USS Pogy. For U.S. Navy ships named Menhaden, see USS Menhaden.

Menhaden, also known as mossbunker, bunker and pogy, are forage fish of the genera Brevoortia and Ethmidium, two genera of marine fish in the family Clupeidae.

Menhaden
Gulf menhaden, Brevoortia patronus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Clupeiformes
Family:	Clupeidae
Subfamily:	Alosinae
Genus:	See text
Species
See text

Menhaden B. tyrannus from the Chesapeake Bay

Description

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. They tend to have larger scales than Yellowfin menhaden and Finescale menhaden. Menhaden are flat, have soft flesh, and a deeply forked tail. In addition, Yellowfin menhaden tail rays are a bright yellow in contrast to those of the Atlantic menhaden. Menhaden's maximum length is 15 inches with a varied weight range.

Taxonomy

Recent taxonomic work using DNA comparisons have organized the North American menhadens into large-scaled (Gulf and Atlantic menhaden) and small-scaled (Finescale and Yellowfin menhaden) designations.^[1]

The menhaden consist of two genera and seven species

• Genus Brevoortia Gill, 1861
  • Brevoortia aurea (Spix & Agassiz, 1829) (Brazilian menhaden)
  • Brevoortia gunteri Hildebrand, 1948 (Finescale menhaden)
  • Brevoortia patronus Goode, 1878 (Gulf menhaden)
  • Brevoortia pectinata (Jenyns, 1842) (Argentine menhaden)
  • Brevoortia smithi Hildebrand, 1941 (Yellowfin menhaden)
  • Brevoortia tyrannus (Latrobe, 1802) (Atlantic menhaden)
• Genus Ethmidium W. F. Thompson, 1916
  • Ethmidium maculatum (Valenciennes, 1847) (Pacific menhaden)

Range and habitat

• Finescale menhaden from the Yucatán to Louisiana.
• Yellowfin menhaden from Louisiana to Virginia.
• Gulf menhaden range from the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico to Tampa Bay, Florida.
• Atlantic menhaden ranges from Jupiter Inlet, Florida, to Nova Scotia. Atlantic menhaden seasonally migrate along the coast. In June mature adults are typically in the northern portion of the coastline with sub-adults and juveniles located in the southern portion.

• The various species of menhaden occur anywhere from estuarine waters outwards to the continental shelf. Menhaden grow in less saline waters of estuaries and can be found in bays, lagoons,as well as river mouths. Adults appear to prefer water temperatures near 18^oC.

Life history

Reproduction

Atlantic menhaden can spawn year round in inshore waters off the Atlantic coast, with the highest spawning rates near North Carolina in the late fall. The eggs hatch in the open ocean and the larvae drift to sheltered estuaries via ocean currents. The young spend a year developing in these estuaries before returning to the open ocean. At this early stage, they are commonly known as “peanut bunker”. The Atlantic menhaden usually do not become sexually mature until the end of their second year, after which they reproduce until death. A young, sexually mature female can produce roughly 38,000 eggs, while a fully mature female can produce upwards of 362,000.^[2]

Growth

Eggs are buoyant and hatch within 2 to 3 days depnding on the temperature. The larvae will spend 1 to 3 months in waters over the continental shelf. The Chesapeake Bay is a popular nursery for juvenile menhaden. Larval fish wil enter the Bay in late winter and early summer. The larval fish will move into lower salinity waters in estuarine tributaries while juvenile and immature fish remain in the Bay until the fall.

Diet

Menhaden are omnivorous filter feeders, feeding by straining food particles from water. They 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".^[3] Menhaden primarily eat phytoplankton (microscopic plants); although, since they are omnivorous, they take in a small portion of zooplankton (microscopic animals). Even though most other related fish (in the family Clupeidae) eat zooplankton, "Menhaden primarily consume phytoplankton, that is, algae and other drifting bits of vegetable matter. The ecological significance of this difference can hardly be overstated."^[4]

Relation to humans

Commercial importance

Menhaden were prized in America for their delicate but rich flavors in the mid 18th century. Mark Catesby (1682–1749), an English naturalist, wrote of the menhaden as an "exellent Sweet Fish, and so excessive fat that butter is never used in frying or any other preparation of them....[menhaden were] much esteemed by the Inhabitants for their delicacy."^{[citation needed]} Colonel William Byrd II, the founder of Richmond, Virginia, commended menhaden as food fit for a gourmet writing of the menhaden as a "small, but splendid fish when it is baked." Over a century later George Brown Goode (1851–1896) praised the menhaden for its flavor, saying it is "superior in flavor to most of the common shore-fishes," and notes that menhaden sold at a "price nearly as high as that of striped bass, the favorite fish in Washington."^{[citation needed]}

Presently, menhaden are an important input for fishmeal and fish oil, with both of these "reduction" products being used as feed for livestock and aquaculture, such as salmon. Fish oil made from menhaden is also used as a dietary supplement, and as a raw material for products such as lipstick.^[5] 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."^[6] 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.

According to James Kirkley of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), there are two established commercial fisheries for menhaden. The first is known as a reduction fishery. According to the Omega Protein Corporation, this fishery's output produces omega-3 oils for human consumption, and for aquaculture, swine, and other livestock feeds.^[7] The second is known as a bait fishery, which harvests menhaden for the use of both commercial and recreational fishermen. Commercial fishermen, especially crabbers in the Chesapeake Bay area, use menhaden to bait their traps or hooks. The recreational fisherman use ground menhaden chum as a fish attractant, and whole fish as bait. The total harvest is approximately 500 million animals per year.^[5] Atlantic menhaden are harvested using purse seines.

Two companies harvest menhaden in the United States:

1. Omega Protein Inc., Houston, Texas, with operations in Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama which takes 90% of the national total;^[5] and
2. Daybrook Fisheries, Empire, Louisiana.

Conservation

According to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the overall Atlantic coast stock of menhaden is robust as of 2006.^[8] However, according to Paul Greenberg, who has called for a ban on fishing menhaden in US federal waters and the Chesapeake bay, the continued harvesting of menhaden (especially by Omega Proteins) is having detrimental effects on the population, which in turn is affecting populations of fish that feed on menhaden and especially on water quality:^[5]

The muddy brown color of the Long Island Sound and the growing dead zones in the Chesapeake Bay are the direct result of inadequate water filtration — a job that was once carried out by menhaden. An adult menhaden can rid four to six gallons of water of algae in a minute. Imagine then the water-cleaning capacity of the half-billion menhaden we "reduce" into oil every year.

There is increasing concern, especially from recreational fisherman and conservationists, that the Chesapeake Bay’s population is declining significantly. The Chesapeake Bay’s major menhaden fishery is located in the southern (Virginia) portion. According to the Chesapeake Bay Program:

"Chesapeake-specific population estimates for menhaden are not currently produced; estimates are only made for the entire Atlantic coast stock, which appears to be healthy. Still, scientists are concerned about what appears to be a low abundance of menhaden in the Bay, which is one of the fish's key nursery areas.

Fisheries-independent data from seine surveys in Maryland and Virginia through 2004 suggested that menhaden recruitment—the number of juveniles that grow to a “catchable” size—was possibly declining in the Bay. Coast-wide recruitment is considered to be at median historic levels.

The exact causes of the decline in recruitment remain unknown. While additional scientific knowledge is necessary to understand the variability of menhaden recruitment, scientists have cited several possible contributing factors, including:

- Heavy fishing on the adult menhaden stock.

- Possible increases in mortality by predators.

- Changing environmental conditions, such as climate change or poor water quality, in menhaden nursery areas."^[9]

Menhaden have been called 'the most important fish in the sea'.^[10] H. Bruce Franklin’s most recent book, The Most Important Fish in the Sea: Menhaden and America is an interdisciplinary study of the role of menhaden in American environmental, economic, social, political, and cultural history from the seventeenth into the twenty-first centuries.^[4]

Notes

1. ^ Anderson, Joel (2007). "Systematics of the North American menhadens: molecular evolutionary reconstructions in the genus Brevoortia (Clupeiformes: Clupeidae)". Fishery Bulletin 105 (3): 368–378. http://fishbull.noaa.gov/1053/anderson.pdf. Retrieved 10 February 2011. 
2. ^ "引越し完全マニュアル" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 30 January 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090130035507/http://menhaden.org/ 
3. ^ GSMFC 2002
4. ^ ^{a b} Franklin, H. Bruce (2007). The Most Important Fish in the Sea: Menhaden and America. Island Press. ISBN 9781597265072. OCLC 74569179. http://www.mostimportantfish.org/. 
5. ^ ^{a b c d} Greenberg, Paul (15 December 2009). "A Fish Oil Story". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/16/opinion/16greenberg.html. Retrieved 10 February 2011. 
   archive via Archive.org not available due to login requirement; login not required to view content via provided link.
6. ^ http://www.dnr.state.md.us
7. ^ Omega Protein (home page). Omega Protein. http://www.omegaproteininc.com 
8. ^ Atlantic Menhaden Technical Committee (26 September 2006). 2006 Stock Assessment Report for Atlantic Menhaden. Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/621Wo9Pqv. Retrieved 13 June 2010 
9. ^ "Chesapeake Bay Program (homepage)". http://www.chesapeakebay.net 
10. ^ http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~hbf/menhaden.htm

References

• "Brevoortia". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=161731. Retrieved 06 June 2006. 
• Pauly, Daniel (2007-11-02). "Fisheries: Tales of a small, but crucial, fish". Science 318 (5851): 750–751. doi:10.1126/science.1147800. http://www.sciencemag.org. Retrieved 2007-11-03. 
• (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2008, from Menhaden Matter: http://www.menhadenmatter.org/links.html
• Atlantic Menhaden Harvest. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2008, from Chesapeake Bay Program: http://www.chesapeakebay.net/atlanticmenhadenmanagement.aspx?menuitem=15378
• Fote, T. P. (1997, May). Interactions of Striped Bass, Bluefish and Forage Species. Jersey Coast Anglers Association .
• Geartype Fact Sheets: Purse Seines . (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2008, from Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations: http://www.fao.org/fishery/geartype/249
• Kirkley, J. E. (2006). The Economic Importance and Value of Menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay Region. Gloucester Point, VA.
• Management: Conflict and Competition. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2008, from Menhaden Resource Council: http://www.menhaden.org/management_conflict.htm
• Maryland Fish Facts: Atlantic Menhaden. (2007, April 5). Retrieved April 20, 2008, from Maryland Department of Natural Resources: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/fishfacts/menhaden.asp
• Mycobacteriosis: Frequently Asked Questions. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2008, from Virginia Institute of Marine Science: http://www.vims.edu/myco/FAQ.html
• Plankton. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2008, from Enchanted Learning: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/invertebrates/plankton/Planktonprintout.shtml
• Save the Stripers: Menhaden Update. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2008, from National Coalition for Marine Conservation: http://www.savethefish.org/action_items_striped_bass_EAN8.htm
• Southwick Associates, Inc. (2006). Menhaden Math The Economic Impact of Atlantic Menhaden on Virginia’s Recreationa land Commercial Fisheries. Retrieved April 20, 2008, from National Coalition for Marine Conservation: http://www.savethefish.org/PDF_files/Menhaden_Math_report.pdf
• Virginia Institute of Marine Science (2009). Several menhaden research projects, currently unpublished.
• Durbin, A. G. and E. G. Durbin. 1998. Effects of Menhaden Predation on Plankton Populations in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island Author. . Estuaries, Vol. 21, No. 3, (Sep., 1998), pp. 449–465.
• Smith, N. G. and C. M. Jones. 2007; What is the cause of menhaden recruitment failure? Quantifying the role of striped bass. Final Rept. Virg. Mar. Resou. Comm. Project #RF 05-01.
• Lynch, P. D. 2007. Feeding ecology of the Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) in Chesapeake Bay. Master’s Thesis. The College of William and Mary, Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Gloucester Point, Virginia.
• Friedland KD, Ahrenholz DW, Smith JW, Manning M, Ryan J. 2006. Sieving functional morphology of the gill raker feeding apparatus of Atlantic menhaden. J. Exp. Zool. 305A:974–985.
• ASMFC. 2006. 2006 Stock Assessment Report for Atlantic Menhaden. Atlantic States Marine

Fisheries Commission. Available: http://www.asmfc.org/speciesDocuments/menhaden/reports/stockAssessments/2006StockAsses smentReport.pdf

External links

• Atlantic Menhaden Campaign | Pew Environment Group
• Saving Striped Bass by Managing Menhaden | KeepAmericaFishing™