The Gulf of Mexico menhaden fishery is one of the most sustainable fisheries in the nation. The industry also provides critical economic support for coastal communities as a job provider, community service leader, and business partner. Saving Seafood has compiled this list of facts to provide a quick-reference guide about Gulf of Mexico menhaden.
Stock Status:
In their 2013 Stock Assessment Report, the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission (GSMFC), which oversees menhaden management in the Gulf of Mexico, certified Gulf menhaden as “neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing.”
Population Factors:
The factors that can affect any fish stock, including Gulf menhaden, are numerous. Available food, space, habitat, ocean temperatures, ocean acidity, other oceanographic and natural environmental factors, fishing, environmental disasters, and many other variables can affect stock numbers and health.
According the GSMFC, population growth of the Gulf menhaden stock is believed to be reliant more on prevailing environmental and oceanographic factors during crucial development periods, such as the egg and larval stage, rather than biomass of mature females in the stock. Factors like pollution, hurricanes, and changing water conditions impact menhaden populations more than commercial fishing operations in the Gulf.
Sustainability:
The Gulf menhaden fishery has one of the lowest levels of bycatch of any fishery in the world. This is because of its use of purse seine nets, one of the most efficient methods of fishing available.
A fact sheet overviewing Gulf menhaden, available on the GSMFC’s website, explains that, "the Gulf menhaden fishery is probably the most closely monitored and managed fishery in the Gulf of Mexico."
The Gulf of Mexico menhaden fishery has also garnered media attention and praise for its sustainability. Louisiana Sportsman magazine hailed it as a “close to perfect fishery” in a September 2013 profile.
Friend of the Sea, an international sustainability certification program dedicated to the conservation of marine resources, has certified and recertified the operations of the menhaden fishery in the Gulf as sustainable since 2008. In 2009, for example, Omega Protein, the largest menhaden fishing company in the Gulf, was awarded their Friend of the Sea Award.
Diet and Ecological Role:
During their lifespan, menhaden consume two types of plankton. For the first year of their lives, juvenile menhaden consume phytoplankton. Large amounts of phytoplankton, fueled by pollution and agricultural nutrient runoff, can create algal blooms, which in turn hurt aquatic ecosystems as they die, sink, decompose, and deplete dissolved oxygen. Importantly, the juvenile menhaden that eat phytoplankton through filter-feeding are not targeted by commercial menhaden fisheries.
Adult menhaden targeted by the menhaden fishery primarily eat zooplankton, microscopic animals distinct from phytoplankton that do not contribute to algal blooms and subsequent water quality issues. According to the GSMFC, recent scientific study has confirmed that the gill baskets of adult menhaden are optimally designed to collect particles the size of zooplankton and large phytoplankton.
Nutrition:
Menhaden and other fatty fish are a source of EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids, which are critical for good health. Menhaden also offers more DPA omega-3 fatty acids than any other fish oil. DPA is an intermediary of EPA and DHA, and a growing body of data suggests that DPA contributes to cardiovascular, neurological, and cognitive health. Most Americans do not incorporate enough omega-3s into their diet and that of their pets, since corn and soy often dominate the ingredients list of animal feed and human nutrition products. Omega-3 supplements derived from menhaden in the form of fish meal and fish oil help fill this nutritional gap.
In humans, an imbalance or lack of omega-3s can lead to serious health issues. Incorporating fish oils into a balanced diet can help reduce the risk for heart disease, pain of rheumatoid arthritis, levels of depression, and chances of suffering other illnesses.
In pets, a diet rich in fish-sourced omega-3s is essential to their health, supporting memory, learning, and heart health. Menhaden fish meal in particular has a 17 percent higher performance in protein digestibility for pets, allowing them to absorb more nutritional benefits from their food. Altogether, pet nutrition products containing menhaden ingredients promote skin and coat health, support functions of eye and brain tissues, maintain healthy bones and joints, and may extend animal life spans, among other benefits.
“The Most Important Fish In the Sea”?:
Menhaden have been misconstrued in the media through a popular phrase, “the most important fish in the sea,” which was coined by a professor of English, H. Bruce Franklin, as the title of his controversial book about the species. The GSMFC's Menhaden Advisory Committee discussed the book in a March 2008 meeting and concluded that the Committee and others in the audience "agreed that the book should be sold as a book of fiction and generally disregarded."
Economic Impact:
Menhaden facilities along the Gulf are key employers, providing over five hundred jobs and investing millions of dollars each year in the region’s industries and communities.
The menhaden fishery continues to be the largest in the Gulf of Mexico by weight. The final purse-seine landings of Gulf menhaden for reduction in 2013 totaled more than 490,000 metric tons. These landings fall well below the overfishing threshold established by the GSMFC’s regular stock evaluations and other independent sustainability assessments.
History:
The commercial menhaden fishery represents one of the oldest marine industries in the United States. Menhaden fishing in the Gulf and in other areas spans generations and holds a deep historical and economic value to coastal communities. The commercial menhaden fishery in the Atlantic Ocean began as early as the mid-1800s, and the Gulf of Mexico fishery followed some time around 1945, after World War II.
Resources:
See the latest GSMFC Stock Assessment Report for Gulf menhaden here
View the GSMFC’s Menhaden Fact Sheet here
Read more about the Gulf menhaden fishery from Louisiana Sportsman magazine here
Learn more about the health benefits of adding fish to a balanced diet here
Read more about the nutritive value of omega-3 fatty acids here
View more information about the impact of DPA on human and animal health here
Review the GSMFC MAC’s “Most Important Fish in the Sea” meeting minutes here
Commonly Used Menhaden-Related Acronyms:
ASMFC – Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
CIE – Center for Independent Experts
DHA – Docosahexaenoic acid
EPA – Eicosapentaenoic acid
GSMFC – Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission
MAC – Menhaden Advisory Committee
NMFS – National Marine Fisheries Service
SEDAR – Southeast Data, Assessment & Review
SSC – Scientific and Statistical Committee