MOBILE, Alabama — For consumers, the health of the Gulf fish population influences more than the price of a fried shrimp basket or the availability of a buttery plate of grouper.
In the wake of the BP oil spill, scientists are closely monitoring the unassuming menhaden — more commonly known as pogy — which has wound its way into a web of products on dry land.
Millions of pounds of the shiny, oily fish are hauled from the Gulf each year, processed into meal and oils that end up in food for pets, dairy cows and farm-raised salmon, fish oil pills and butter substitutes on the grocery shelf.
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