Menhaden: Key Species in Atlantic Fisheries and Marine Ecosystems

Menhaden, sometimes referred to as "pogy," "bunker," or "mossbunker," are a group of four species of fish found in the Western Atlantic, from Nova Scotia to Brazil. These fish belong to the genera Brevoortia and Ethmidium within the Clupeidae family, which includes other well-known fish like herring. Menhaden play a crucial role in the marine ecosystem as they feed on microscopic plants and animals, filtering the water as they swim in large schools near the ocean's surface.

Menhaden are primarily harvested using purse seines, a method ideal for capturing large schools of fish near the surface. Once caught, these fish are either stored in non-refrigerated holds, requiring them to be brought to port within 24 hours, or kept in refrigerated holds, allowing vessels to remain at sea for several days. Despite their abundance, menhaden are not consumed directly by humans. Instead, they are processed into fish meal and oil, much like herring. These by-products are essential for various industries, particularly in agriculture, where fish meal serves as a high-protein feed for livestock and aquaculture, and fish oil is used in supplements and industrial applications.

In the United States, menhaden are the most heavily harvested fish, with annual catches amounting to several hundred thousand metric tons. This makes them one of the most significant fisheries by volume in the country. The sustainability of menhaden fisheries is closely monitored due to their ecological importance. These fish are a vital food source for larger predators like striped bass, bluefish, and marine mammals, and their filtration activity helps maintain the health of coastal waters. Consequently, maintaining balanced harvest levels is crucial to preserving both the menhaden population and the broader marine ecosystem they support.
Menhaden: Key Species in Atlantic Fisheries and Marine Ecosystems

Rainbow parrotfish

Parrotfish get their name because their mouth looks like a parrot’s beak. They have two large front teeth that are stick together to help them chip algae and other plants off the hard coral.

Most of the 85 species of parrotfish live on tropical coral reefs in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans. They only eat ocean plants.

The rainbow parrotfish occurs in the Western Atlantic, ranging form Bermuda to Argentina including the Caribbean Sea.

The rainbow parrotfish, which grows to 3 feet (1 m) and 20 pounds (9 kg), is the biggest North American parrotfish. The species is found from 3-25 m depth. Juveniles are commonly encountered in mangrove areas It inhabits a home cave at night and when threatened.

In Jamaican waters, the highest proportion of active an ripe fishes appear to be confined to the period between January and May.
Rainbow parrotfish

Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus)

A member of the Clupeidae family of herring, the Atlantic herring is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s most numerous fish and is certainly one of the world’s most valuable fish.

In the Gulf of Maine, Atlantic herring provide forage for numerous other species and support a commercially critical New England fishery.

Herring have been heavily exploited for well over 150 years, providing an extensive historical record for analysis.

The Atlantic herring is silvery with a bluish or greenish-blue back and an elongated body. The dorsal fin begins at about the middle of the body, and there are 39 or 47 weakly developed ventral scutes. At the midline of the belly are scales that form a sharp-edged ridge. The Atlantic herring's body is flattened side to side. This shape both streamlines the fish and makes it hard for predators to spot. A counter- shading pattern of a dark back and silvery underside makes the herring even harder to detect

This species schools in coastal waters and have been recorded in temperatures of 34 to 64 °F. The present distribution of the Atlantic herring reflects occurs in the northeast Atlantic from where it invaded the freshwater estuaries of northern Russia.

The Atlantic herring is distributed from Cape Hatteras (North Carolina) to Greenland in the western North Atlantic and from the Bay of Biscay to Spitsbergen and Novaya Zemlya in the eastern Atlantic. It also enters the White Sea.
Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus)

Flounder summer

The summer flounder (paralichthys dentatus), most commonly called fluke, is a member of the Bothidae family of left-eyed flounder. It is found along the Atlantic coast of North America.

Summer flounders received their name due to their habitation of inshore waters of the northeastern United States during the summer months.

It is the most northerly and perhaps abundant of the three bothid species, as well as the largest and most prized flatfish caught in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

Summer flounders is a commercial species and exhibits exceptional color transformation. The meat is firm, white and delicately flavored.

The summer flounder prefers sandy or muddy bottoms and is common in the summer months in bays, harbors, estuaries, canals, creeks, and along shoreline, as wells as in the vicinity of piers and bridges or near patches of eelgrass or other vegetation. Some even penetrate the fresh water of rivers.

Most of the fish are filleted and are good for baking or broiling: they are also used as panfish or are stuffed and rolled.
Flounder summer