Atlantic Menhaden
Menhaden are a significant link in the Chesapeake Bay food web. Image courtesy: Duane Raver / USFWS
Atlantic menhaden is a keystone species that forms a critical link between the lower and upper levels of the Bay food web. In addition, menhaden make up one of the oldest and largest commercial fisheries on the Atlantic coast.
Menhaden are vital to the food web
Atlantic menhaden are a significant link in the Bay food web. Like oysters, menhaden are filter feeders, grazing on algae and other planktonic organisms. This action helps cleanse the water of excess nutrients that contribute to the Bay's poor water quality.
In turn, the Bay's menhaden population is a key food supply for many commercially and recreationally valuable predatory fish, including bluefish, weakfish and striped bass. Fish-eating birds, such as ospreys and bald eagles, also rely on menhaden as a source of food.
Menhaden are economically important
The Bay's commercial Atlantic menhaden fishery is one of the most important and productive on the Atlantic coast. More pounds of menhaden are landed each year than any other fish in the Bay.
While this small, oily fish is not edible by humans, menhaden are used for a variety of other purposes, including:
- Fish meal for poultry and livestock feed
- Fish oil for foods, paints and cosmetics
- Fertilizer
- Bait for other fisheries
- Menhaden Fact Sheet: Information from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources about the fishery and life history of Atlantic menhaden.
- Menhaden Background: Ecology and life history of menhaden from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
- The Most Important Fish in the Sea: Article from the Sept. 2001 issue of Discover magazine that discusses the ecological role menhaden play in the Chesapeake and other areas along the Atlantic coast.