The tiny Atlantic menhaden, often called "the most important fish in the sea," plays an important role in marine ecosystems from Maine to Florida. The fish is a critical food source for wildlife such as whales, dolphins, ospreys and eagles, as well as valuable fish species like tuna, cod, striped bass and tarpon.
The Atlantic menhaden population has plummeted to less than 10 percent of historic levels and are now at a record low point. The reason for this decline is that billions are hauled in and ground up, removed from their ecosystem mostly to be used in fertilizer, pet food, dietary supplements, and feed for for agricultural animals and farm-raised fish.
By weight, more menhaden are caught than any other fish on the East Coast. One company, Omega Protein, operates a fleet that each year scoops up about three-quarters of the entire East Coast catch—more than 410 million pounds. Most of that catch comes from the Chesapeake Bay, a critical habitat for juvenile menhaden.
The menhaden shortage is having a significant effect on the entire ecosystem. While menhaden once made up 70 percent of a striped bass' diet, they now account for 7 percent—and the bass are showing marked signs of malnutrition and disease. Scientists suspect that the impacts of dwindling menhaden may be much more widespread. The shortage threatens the East Coast's marine food web and could cripple commercial and sport fishing industries. The striped bass generates $6.9 billion and 68,000 jobs for the commercial and recreational fishing industries on the East Coast.
Despite its documented impact, menhaden fishing continues at levels that are destructive to the ocean ecosystem: Safe fishing targets have been exceeded every year but one since 1955. As a result, people who value our oceans, concerned scientists, and the Pew Environment Group are calling for a plan to conserve the last remaining menhaden.
Read the full article at the Pew Environment Group.
Analysis: The article misrepresents several facts about the menhaden fishery. Most importantly, the menhaden fishery is currently not overfished. According to the most recent stock assessment by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), the organization responsible for regulating the menhaden fishery, menhaden are not currently overfished. Slight overfishing did occur in 2008; however, this is the only time the population has experienced overfishing in the last ten years, and while fishing slightly exceeded the mortality rate, the abundance rate was still on target.
It is also misleading of Pew to say that menhaden are at "less than 10 percent of historic levels." Menhaden are currently fished to 8% of their Maximum Spawning Potential (MSP), which, rather than being a historical figure, is a population estimate of a theoretical unfished population. Very rarely have menhaden exceeded 10% MSP in the past few decades, as the population has traditionally been able to rebuild itself at that level, given the high number of eggs an individual menhaden can produce.
The article is also misleading in its assessment that the variations in the amount of menhaden in striped bass diet is due entirely to the reduction fishery. A recent survey by the Virginia Institute for Marine Science places the percentage of menhaden in striped bass diet at around 9%. However, this number fluctuates for a variety of reasons, including the prevalene of other prey species and the relative locations of menhaden and bass schools. Bass are opportunistic eaters and are not dependent on one species of fish.