Southeast Menhaden Fisheries 



-^' 



'■-*«*. 



-pr^fe"^ 



■^w .■ 









Unit 



10 







DOUGLAS S VAUGHAN 

 JOSEPH W SMITH 



NMFS Southeast Fisheries 



Science Center, Beaufort 



Laboratory 



Beaufort 

 North Carolina 



INTRODUCTION 



The menhaden is a herring-like speeies t-Qund 

 in coastal and estuarine waters of the U.S. Atlan- 

 tic and Gulf of Mexico. They form large schools 

 at the surface which are located by aircraft and are 

 harvested hy purse seines to produce fish meal, 

 fish oil, and fish solubles. An active baittish fish- 

 ery along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts harvests 

 about 5-10% of the amount landed by the indus- 

 trial fishery. These fisheries are managed by indi- 

 vidual states, with interstate coordination handled 

 through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Com- 

 mission and the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Com- 

 mission. Menhaden are prey for many fishes and 

 sea birds. 



In the Atlantic area, the menhaden resource is 

 fully utilized with a long-term potential yield of 

 480,000 metric tons (t) per year and a recent av- 

 erage yield of 300,000 t/year (Table lO-I). In the 

 Gulf of Mexico, the menhaden resource is fully 



utilized with a long-term potential yield of 

 660,000 t/year and a recent average yield of 

 560,000 t/year. 



Atlantic Menhaden 



Atlantic menhaden range from West Palm 

 Beach, Fla., to Nova Scotia, Can. As coastal wa- 

 ters warm in April and May, large surface schools 

 form along the coasts of Florida, Georgia, and the 

 Carolinas. The schools move slowly northward, 

 stratifying by age and size during summer, with 

 the older and larger fish generally moving farther 

 north. Fhe southward migration begins in early 

 fall with surface schools disappearing in late De- 

 cembet or early January off the Carolinas. Atlan- 

 tic menhaden may live 10 years, but most fish 

 caught are 3 years old or younger (Smith, 1991 ). 



Menhaden landings rose during the 1940's and 

 early 1950's, peaking at 712,100 t in 1956 (Fig- 

 ure 10-1). Landings remained high during the late 



Menhaden. 



1 39 



