Fish
Atlantic Menhaden
Brevoortia tyrannus · also called bunker, pogy, mossbunker
Most people on the Atlantic coast have never knowingly seen an Atlantic menhaden, and almost nobody has eaten one. It is still arguably the most important fish on that coast, because nearly everything else eats it, and because it is caught in greater tonnage than almost any other species.
Overview
Brevoortia tyrannus ranges from Nova Scotia to Florida in coastal and estuarine waters, in large surface schools. It is a filter feeder, straining plankton from the water through comb-like gill rakers as it swims with its mouth open.
The fish that feeds everything
It converts plankton into oil and protein that then feeds striped bass, bluefish, tuna, humpback whales, dolphins, ospreys, and loons. Dense schools also clear plankton from coastal water, improving water quality.
Ground up by the ton
Too bony and oily to eat directly, most of the catch is rendered into fish meal and fish oil for feed and supplements. Schools are spotted from aircraft and encircled with purse seines, and by weight this is one of the largest fisheries on the US Atlantic coast.
Status
Least Concern and currently not overfished under catch limits introduced in 2013, though there is continuing debate about whether enough menhaden are being left to feed predators, especially in the Chesapeake Bay.
Atlantic Menhaden: common questions
If people do not eat menhaden, why is so much of it caught?
Because the fish is valuable once it is processed rather than eaten whole. Menhaden are rich in oil and protein, and the reduction industry cooks the catch and separates it into fish meal, a high-protein powder used to feed farmed fish, poultry, and pigs, and fish oil, which goes into omega-3 supplements, pet food, and some human foods. There is also a large bait fishery, since menhaden are prime bait for crab pots and for catching striped bass, tuna, and lobster. Between the reduction and bait fisheries, the Atlantic menhaden catch is one of the largest of any fish on the United States east coast by weight.
Why do conservationists worry about menhaden?
Because so many other animals depend on them. Menhaden sit near the base of the coastal food web, turning plankton into the fatty forage that predators need, and a shortage in a given area can leave striped bass thin and poorly nourished, reduce seabird breeding success, and change where whales and dolphins feed. Historically the fishery removed menhaden faster than the science could track, and populations in some bays, notably the Chesapeake, dropped sharply. Since 2013 the fishery has operated under a coast-wide cap, and managers are moving toward setting catch limits based on how much menhaden the ecosystem needs, not just on how many the stock can spare.
What is the difference between menhaden, herring, and shad?
All three are members of the herring family and all form large plankton-feeding schools, but they differ in body and habits. Menhaden are deeper-bodied and blunter-headed, extremely oily, with a distinctive large dark shoulder spot often followed by smaller spots, and they stay in coastal salt water. True herring are slimmer and more silvery and range further offshore and north. Shad are larger, run up rivers to spawn, and are traditionally eaten by people, both the flesh and the roe. Anglers and baitmen often lump the smaller ones together as bunker or pogies, which almost always means menhaden.
Are menhaden good for water quality?
In principle, yes, and this is part of why their numbers matter beyond fishing. A menhaden feeds by filtering plankton out of the water as it swims, and a large school moving through an estuary removes a great deal of suspended algae and organic material, which can reduce cloudiness and help limit the low-oxygen dead zones that follow algal blooms. The real-world effect depends on how many fish are present and where, and it is hard to measure precisely, but restoring menhaden is often mentioned alongside oyster restoration as a way to help clean up bays like the Chesapeake.