Menhaden Facts

• Menhaden are obligate filter-feeding omnivores which mean they swim with their mouths open and filter particles suspended in the water in front of them.  This includes phytoplankton (microscopic, planktonic plants), zooplankton (small planktonic animals) and detrital matter (disintegrating plant material).  The gills of juvenile and adult menhaden form a kind of basket through which the water is sieved.  Particles that are too small, mostly small phytoplankton, pass through the gills and return to the water; however, some phytoplankton does pass into the gut.  Larger particles, mostly large phytoplankton and zooplankton, are retained by the gills and consumed.  Recent scientific study has found that the gill basket of adults is optimally designed to collect particles the size of zooplankton and large phytoplankton.
  
  
• Menhaden, like other members of the clupeid family (sardines and herrings), are an important food fish for many other marine animals, including fish, mammals, and birds.  Numerous studies have shown that recreational and commercial finfish such as spotted seatrout and red drum consume shrimp, anchovies, mullet, croaker, and numerous other species, including gulf menhaden.  Marine mammals and sea birds, most notably the osprey, also use menhaden as forage.  However, bay anchovy constitutes the greatest biomass of any fish in the Gulf of Mexico and is highly abundant in every estuary from Florida Bay, Florida, to Baffin Bay, Texas, year round.  The anchovy's size and abundance make it one of the most important forage species and is a staple item in the diet of birds and predatory fish.
  
  
• Harmful algal blooms like red tide are mostly the result of increased nutrients flowing down rivers into the Gulf of Mexico, not a lack of planktivorous fish.  Many bays and estuaries in the United States are polluted with an overabundance of nitrogen and phosphorus that comes from runoff from land.  These substances come from fertilizers, detergents, and other chemicals that find their way into our coastal waters through runoff and, along with sunlight, feed the phytoplankton populations until they expand to huge numbers.  As these dense blooms die, they sink and begin to decompose, stripping the oxygen from the water.  The result of this decomposition is hypoxic water conditions or dead zones, the largest being in the northern Gulf of Mexico every summer.   Menhaden do not have the capacity to reduce unwanted phytoplankton blooms that arise from manmade sources, primarily because they eat mostly zooplankton. In addition, menhaden excrete large amounts of ammonia (a nitrogenous product), contributing to an already high nitrogen load.  Significant amounts of ammonia have been detected in the wake of a school of menhaden.
  
  
• The total gulf menhaden population may be limited by available food, space, and habitat.  Furthermore, recruitment of young fish into the gulf menhaden stock is believed to be reliant more on prevailing environmental and oceanographic factors during the egg and larval stage of gulf menhaden rather than biomass of mature females in the stock,  Thus, elimination of the reduction fishery might not result in a substantial population increase in the Gulf.
  
  
• Soy meal and oil are frequently used in animal feed and to produce oil products for human consumption.   While soy contains high levels of Omega-6 fatty acids which are required by the body, it does not contain Omega-3s which is primarily found in fish meal and oil.  As a result, the typical American diet consists of primarily Omega-6s.   This imbalance of fatty acids can lead to a number of illnesses, including coronary heart disease and depression, among others.  Although many people believe that it would be more ecologically acceptable to substitute soy products for menhaden products, even animal and aquaculture producers recognize the need for fish oils in a balanced diet.
  
  
• The menhaden fishery is one of the oldest fisheries in the United States.  Historical records show that menhaden, called bunker, mossback, pogy, among other common names, were harvested along the Atlantic coast for fertilizer in the 1700s and for oil as early as the mid 1800s.  The fishery in the Gulf of Mexico has been continuous since around 1945 although earlier efforts in the early 1900s were made; there were no significant landings until after World War II.
  
  
• Published records show that menhaden were used for human consumption in the 1800s, winning medals for their value as food in 1873 and 1874 in Vienna and Bremen, respectively.  Quoting from G. Brown Goode in his book, A History of the Menhaden, It need only be said that they have been carefully tested by many unprejudiced judges in the city of Washington, and that the verdict has always been that they were almost equal to French sardines of the best brands.
  
  
• The total population for gulf menhaden at the beginning of 2004 (prior to the 2005 hurricanes) was estimated to be about 36.3 billion fish, and the total number of fish removed from the Gulf of Mexico for reduction was estimated to be about 5.3 billion fish or 14.6% of the total population.  Based on the recent (2007) stock assessment for gulf menhaden, the population is healthy and overfishing is not occurring.  This indicates that current gulf menhaden are more than able to sustain themselves and that current levels of harvest in the commercial fishery are not harmful to the population.
  
  
• The majority of the catches and landings for gulf menhaden occur in Louisiana and Mississippi with lesser quantities coming from Texas and Alabama waters.  Florida allows purse seines outside the first 3 miles of its state waters as long as the nets are less than 2 inch stretched mesh.  Alabama restricts purse seine in most of its coastal waters except west of Mobile Bay.  The gulf menhaden fishery has been relatively stable since 2001 with four factories and about 40 vessels participating in the fishery.  Most Atlantic menhaden vessels are deep draft, and ill-suited for the relatively shallow, near-shore waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico.
  
  
• Gulf menhaden are harvested for the primary purposes of producing dry fish meal and extracting oil, and no part of the fish is wasted.  The majority of the oil is used in products for human consumption overseas with a small portion remaining in the United States for livestock and aquaculture feeds.  The very small amount (1-2%) contributes to industrial applications such as marine lubricants and additives.  The meal is primarily used in feeds for livestock and aquaculture and a small portion is used in the organic foods industry as fertilizer.
  
  
• The gulf menhaden fishery is probably the most closely monitored and managed fishery in the Gulf of Mexico.  The fishery has a well-defined season: approximately 28 weeks long, from the third Monday in April through November 1.  The menhaden industry has kept records of every single net set it has made since 1979 and provides these data directly to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).  The industry reports daily catch unloads to the NMFS, and allows the NMFS and the states unrestricted access to their vessels for the purpose of acquiring port samples.
  
  
• Gulf menhaden landings are a significant component of the overall economy in the coastal states of Louisiana and Mississippi.  In 2008, menhaden landings were the largest by volume (927.5 million lbs) in the Gulf of Mexico and and second in value nationally behind Alaska.
  
  
• Every fishery, commercial or recreational, has some bycatch associated with it.  Bycatch in the commercial gulf menhaden fishery is one of the lowest of all the commercial fisheries in the United States.  In a recent (2008) letter to Congressman Robert Wittman in preparation for a Congressional hearing on menhaden, Dr. James Balsiger, acting Assistant Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, highlighted that most of the studies related to menhaden indicate a very low level of bycatch.   Studies conducted in the Gulf of Mexico found similar low levels of bycatch which is supported by routine monitoring by state agencies.  The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has listed purse seine fisheries as one of the three fisheries worldwide with lowest bycatch.