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Salt Water Sportsman Editor's LettersMenhaden MattersThere's a theme - or rather a baitfish - running through this month's "Giant Stripers" cover package (p. 56). If you want to catch a true cow, you can stack the deck in your favor by locating a pod of adult mehaden (a.k.a. bunker, pogies, fatbacks, etc.). Problem is, these days it's getting harder and harder to find a school of menhaden. In fact, the coast-wide population has plummeted to a near-record low. To the human palate these fish taste like an oily rag with bones. But fish of all stripes relish and depend on them. "The ecological role of the menhaden cannot be overstated," declares Bigelow and Schroeder's Fishes of the Gulf of Maine, the seminal text on the fish of the North Atlantic. "They convert energy derived from phyto- and zooplanktons, and possibly plant detritus, into hundreds of thousands of tons of fish flesh." Not only do menhaden feed alll manner of gamefish, they also function, as on scientist noted in Discover magazine, "like a liver of a bay." A school of a few thousand menhaden can purify 1,260,000 gallons of seawater an hour, ridding it of the nutrients that can cause devastating algae blooms. It's not hard to make the argument that the menhaden is the most important fish in the sea. Yet they may be disappearing the fastest. There's a thriving commercial fishery that utilizes ground menhaden to make everything from fish oil pills to beauty products to cattle feed. Through the dogged efforts of conservation groups, many menhaden boats have been pushed out of state waters. But they still hold sway over Chesapeake Bay, and more than a few scientists feel they're ruining the health of this great watershed. Historically, menhaden made up 77 percent of the diet of striped bass in the Bay. By 2000, that number had shrunk to 21 percent. The result is a population of stripers with poor weight-to-length ratios. Even worse, studies show that 70 percent of the stripers in the Bay are infected with mycobacteriosis, a disease that affects vital organs and causes lesions on the skin. In addition, the survival rate for stripers has decreased by 20 percent. Recently, a few conservation groups organized a coalition under the banner of Menhaden Matter (www.menhadenmatter.org). Their efforst paid off. As you read this, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) is drafting a plan to put a temporary cap on the number of fish that can be caught. The plan will then be vetted during public hearings later this spring. It's a good first step, but there's much more to be done. To join the cause, log onto asmfc.org and e-mail your state's commissioners. Let them know that menhaden matter. David Dibenedetto Article courtesy of Salt Water Sportsman Back to Menhaden In the News page |