THE MENHADEN 



BY William A. Ellison, Jr. 

 Institute of Fisheries Research, University of North Carolina 



GENERAL AND HISTORICAL 



POSITION AND MAGNITUDE OF THE MENHADEN FISHERY 



The menhaden is a member of the important family Clupeidae, which in- 

 cludes the shad, herring, alewives, and the hickory shad of the Atlantic 

 and the pilchard of the West Coast. Not being considered an edible fish, it 

 is rarely recognized and in fact scarcely known by name among the general 

 public. It has, however, given the United States one of its great fisheries 

 and is fished for in more states and over a wider range than any other import- 

 ant fish in the territorial waters of the United States. 



As a food fish, the menhaden has never been popular, and may never be, 

 because of its unesthetic quality, although it is perhaps unequalled by any 

 other known food in intrinsic nutritive value at so low cost. From the earliest 

 colonial times it has provided bait for other fish and industrial commodities 

 in the form of oil, fertilizer, or animal food. During the middle of the nine- 

 teenth century considerable quantities were salted for export to the West 

 Indies and for home consumption. A little later (1873-75) small menhaden 

 were canned as "American sardines" or "shadines," but the superiority of 



85 



