Eye Opener 3: Summary of Reading 5: The Most Important Fish in the Sea

Summary of the Article 

Menhaden are a small, herring-like fish found on the Atlantic coast (McKinney 19).  They are not fished to be eaten by humans, but are dried, and ground up into a high protein feed for chicken, pigs, and cattle.  Selling for 10 cents/pound at the dock, menhaden are a cheap component in industrial poultry, swine, and livestock feed (McKinney 19).  However, they are one of the most important links in the Atlantic aquatic life food chain.  Many fish humans consume including bass, mackerel, cod, bonito, swordfish, bluefish, and tuna use menhaden as a key dietary component (McKinney 20).  According to industry statistics, the menhaden population has been declining since 1946.  This article discussed the effects of dramatic population decrease in menhaden:  

• Menhaden feed off of phytoplankton, thus controlling the growth of algae in costal waters (McKinney 20). Now, devastating algal blooms are increasing along the Atlantic coast due to the menhaden's filter feeding limitations (McKinney 21).
• Bass feed on menhaden, and after the dramatic decrease of them, bass are forced to feed off of fish with much lower nutritional values.  Therefore, bass are skinnier than ever and are experiencing a loss of muscle as an entire population (McKinney 20). 
• The bass are also experiencing diseases related to bacterial infections caused by Pfiesteria, a toxic form of phytoplankton that appropriate populations of menhaden can control (McKinney 20). 
• Ospreys on Gardiners Island, near the eastern tip of Long Island, New York are dwindling due to the lack of menhaden to feed off of in May, when menhaden schools would typically arrive just in time to feed the osprey nestlings (McKinney 21). 
• The loon count has dropped steadily in Chesapeake Bay from 1989 (McKinney 21). 

Although the problem seems to be out of control, there are a few measures that can be taken to one again increase the menhaden population.  First of all, menhaden spotter planes need to be taken away from the fleet of industrial fishing.  Since WWII, fishermen began using spotter planes and purse seines to find and fish the the menhaden (McKinney 20).  If a quota was put on the number of fish to attain, and fishing were not allowed after December 1st, the menhaden population would flourish.  The problem is that these days, Omega Protein Inc. enjoys a near monopoly fishing for menhaden (McKinney 22).  They currently use spotter planes to find the large schools of fish, where the pilots then radio the coordinates down to purse seines to cast nets and trap all of the fish.  Regulations regarding this type of fishing need to be implemented.  Barney White, the corporate vice president of Omega Protein Inc., denies that menhaden are being overfished, and that there is any type of ecological problem whatsoever caused by their decline (McKinney 22).  However, to what extend does Omega Protein Inc. need menhaden to sustain their sales? National Fisherman (the fishing industries journal) sates that, "where menhaden is processed into feed for poultry and pigs, the demand for fish is depressed by a surplus of soy, which serves the same purpose" (McKinney 22).  Therefore, all of the ground up menhaden could be easily replaced by ground up soybeans.  

This article presented a very strong argument:  regulations of menhaden fishing need to be put into effect immediately.  Overall, I found this article very easy to read, and it provided some great quotes from personnel within the industry.  

Terms To Know

Menhaden: An American marine fish of the Herring family (Brevoortia tyrannus), chiefly valuable for its oil and as a component of fertilizer.

Phytoplankton: Plankton consisting of free-floating algae, protists, and cyanobacteria. Phytoplankton form the beginning of the food chain for aquatic animals and fix large amounts of carbon, which would otherwise be released as carbon dioxide

Pfiesteria: a genus of dinoflagellates including one (Pfiesteriapiscicida) found in waters especially along the middle and southern Atlantic coast of the U.S. that produces a toxin which causes skin lesions in fish, that feeds upon the lesions sometimes causinglarge fish die-offs, and that may cause symptoms (as skin lesions and memory loss) in humans exposed to the toxin

Online Sources

1. Menhaden Matter is a collection of organizations that are concerned with the conservation of Menhaden and dedicated to protecting the ecological role of Menhaden in Chesapeake Bay.  The Menhaden Matter alliance is NOT looking to shut down the industrial menhaden industry, they are looking to instigate proactive management of the menhaden industry to improve the future health of the industry and of the Chesapeake Bay.  The alliance is advocating for sufficient conversation matters such as the adoption of proper menhaden harvesting techniques.  These conservation matters include enforcing a quota, and seasonal limitations for fishing.  
2. Friend of the Sea is a non-profit non- governative organization for the conservation of marine habitat by means of the certification and promotion of seafood and products from sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.  In the category of "Fish Meal", Friend of the Sea has deemed Omega Protein Inc. a certified friend of the sea.  According to Friend of the Sea, Omega Protein Inc. does not overexploit target stocks, their fishing methods do not impact the seabed, and they generate less than average (8%) of discards.  Omega Protein Inc. had to apply for this certification, and were granted the certification.  To view the full report on the certification of Omega Protein Inc.  click here. 

Question For Discussion

While I was reading this article, and doing supplemental research online, I found myself asking the same question over and over.  I would like to now pose the same question for you:

• Would it be possible to require animal feed corporations such as Omega Protien Inc. to use alternative sources of protein for their products? If so, what percentage of their product should be menhaden derived?