Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) – Information and Fishery
Atlantic menhaden are members of one of the most economically and ecologically important families of fishes (Clupeidae), which includes herrings, shad, anchovies, and sardines. Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) is found in coastal and estuarine waters from Nova Scotia to northern Florida. Atlantic menhaden undergo a coast-wide (along the coast of the Eastern United States) migration. They are considerably larger than their Gulf of Mexico menhaden cousins (Brevoortia patronus). On their northerly spring migration, the schools stratify by size and age along the coast so that by the summer, younger and smaller fish are found in the Chesapeake Bay and south, while the older, larger fish are distributed to the north. The menhaden return to the shelf waters during fall, forced out of estuaries by cooling temperature conditions they find intolerable. Atlantic menhaden are characteristically numerous and form large, dense schools that serve as prey for many predatory species. There are also two less-important menhaden speces in US waters and additional ones in South America.
Most spawning activity occurs during winter off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts. Larvae appear in the Chesapeake Bay in large numbers during May and June, with a smaller influx in November. The larvae are transported to the brackish waters of the Bay, which they use as nursery areas. It is here they transform into the filter-feeding fish much as they appear as adults. By late summer, the juveniles reach a length of 4 inches and leave the nursery area to join the adult population. Tagging studies performed in the 1970s suggest Atlantic menhaden exist in a single unit stock, which migrates on a yearly basis. Atlantic menhaden play an important ecological role. As adults, menhaden are common in all salinities of the Chesapeake Bay, swimming in large schools close to the water’s surface. Feeding on both phytoplankton and zooplankton, menhaden can reach a length of 15 inches. Menhaden serve as prey for many fish and birds species. The menhaden fishery is one of the most productive fisheries on the Atlantic coast, providing fish meal, fish oil, and fish solubles, as well as bait for other fisheries. A majority of catches come from estuaries and near-shore coastal state waters, and are caught with a variety of gear.
