June 11, 2012 – You won’t find Atlantic menhaden on restaurant menus, but if you take a fish oil supplement or eat farm-raised chickens and pigs, chances are you’re benefiting from the Chesapeake Bay’s small, oily fish every day.
It’s not just health-conscious humans who rely on menhaden; the fish are also a staple for predators throughout the bay. With so much demand for menhaden, some worry there may not be enough to go around. Now, the little fish is at the center of a big question — can healthy ecosystems coexist with profitable commercial fisheries?
Menhaden are important for big predator fish like striped bass, said Edward Houde, fisheries science professor at the University of Maryland. They are also hunted from the air.
“Diet studies of osprey, pelicans and eagles show they have a high dependency on menhaden as well,” Houde said.
Eagles and ospreys are higher-level predators that depend on Chesapeake Bay menhaden for food. Photo: NOAA
And while menhaden seldom wind up on human dinner plates, in a real sense they put food on the table. After blue crabs, the small fish are the Chesapeake’s second most profitable commercial fishery.
Omega Protein, a Louisiana-based company that hauls in about 80 percent of all menhaden caught, employs 300 bayside residents at its Reedville, Va. fishing and processing facility.
Ben Landry, director of public affairs for Omega, estimated the direct economic impact in the Reedville area at about $80 million. Nationwide, the company reported $235.2 million in revenue for 2011.
In the Chesapeake, Omega nets an average of 85,484 tons of Atlantic menhaden per year. Add in hauls from along the coast, and the company’s total catch of Atlantic menhaden is 174,457 tons.
Taking that many menhaden has some scientists worried.
“We’re very concerned about the status of the menhaden stock right now. It’s not about to collapse,” Houde said. “But there’s no doubt that the reproductive success of menhaden … has been down for about 25 years.”
In the 1970s there were many times more menhaden in the bay, he said. Scientists are not sure of the reason for the decline.