The Most Important Fish in the Sea

Science News,  August 18, 2007  

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THE MOST IMPORTANT FISH IN THE SEA H. BRUCE FRANKLIN

Franklin recounts how the menhaden, a fish that most people today have never heard of, helped shape the natural history of the United States. Native Americans and early settlers buried the small and unappetizing fish with seeds to encourage crop growth. Following the Civil War, manufacturers extracted oil from the fish and used it in fertilizer. Later, as the health benefits of omega proteins became apparent, the demand for these fish rose precipitously. Overfishing of menhaden eventually had a negative impact on the ecosystems of the U.S.-Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The numbers of larger fish species, which relied on menhaden for food, dwindled. And in the absence of menhaden, algal growth threatened to choke the other organisms living in the coastal waters. Franklin reveals how an unlikely alliance between recreational anglers and environmentalists helped save the menhaden populations of the Eastern seaboard. Island Press, 2007, 264 p., b&w photos & illus., hardcover, $25.00.

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