The Fish That Feeds the Ocean

Hi, my name is Zeynep. I am a young wildlife ambassador, and I studied the Atlantic Menhaden.

Before I started learning about menhaden, I had never really thought about them. They are small, silver fish. They do not have giant teeth. They are not colorful like tropical fish. Most people probably would not stop and say, “Wow, look at that menhaden!”

But I discovered something surprising:

A lot of the ocean depends on this little fish.

Meet the Menhaden

Atlantic Menhaden are also called bunker in New York. They live in coastal waters and estuaries from northern Florida all the way to Nova Scotia. They usually swim together in huge schools, sometimes close to the surface of the water.

A menhaden can grow to around 15 inches long and can live for 10 to 12 years. But what I find most interesting is the way it eats.

Menhaden are filter feeders.

They swim through the water eating tiny organisms called phytoplankton and zooplankton. Instead of chasing one big meal, they filter lots of tiny food from the water.

Imagine swimming around with your mouth open and having your lunch floating everywhere around you!

So Why Do I Call It “The Fish That Feeds the Ocean”?

Because everybody seems to want to eat it!

Okay, maybe not everybody.

But menhaden are an extremely important food source for animals such as striped bass, bluefish, sharks, seabirds, and marine mammals.

Even humpback whales come after schools of menhaden.

Think about that for a second.

A fish that may weigh around one pound can become food for one of the largest animals on Earth.

That is why scientists call menhaden a forage fish. A forage fish is a smaller fish that becomes food for many larger animals.

Take away too much of that food, and the animals above it in the food web can feel the difference.

A tiny fish can have a very big job.

Menhaden in New York

This story is especially exciting for us because menhaden live right here in New York waters.

New York State says the Atlantic Menhaden population numbers in the billions, and in recent years northeastern states have seen larger numbers of them in local waters. Large schools can gather near reefs and attract predators looking for a meal.

Menhaden also have a long history around Jamaica Bay. The National Park Service describes a time when Jamaica Bay was filled with oysters, clams, sharks, and menhaden. In the 1800s, menhaden were even caught there and processed for fish oil and fertilizer.

Today, seeing schools of menhaden around New York means something different.

It can mean dolphins, large fish, seabirds, and even whales may not be very far away.

Large schools of menhaden have become more common along New York's shoreline, and humpback whales have been seen feeding on them within sight of the New York City skyline.

Just imagine that.

A whale near New York City...

because it followed a school of little fish.

Are Menhaden Disappearing?

Here is where the story gets interesting.

There are still billions of Atlantic Menhaden, and the most recent scientific assessment says the population is not overfished and that overfishing is not currently occurring. That is good news.

But that does not mean we can stop paying attention.

Menhaden are caught in very large numbers. They are used for bait and are also processed into products such as fish meal, fish oil, animal feed, fertilizer, and supplements.

Scientists now try to answer a bigger question:

How many menhaden can people catch while still leaving enough in the ocean for the animals that need to eat them?

That is a very different way of thinking.

We are not only asking:

“Are there enough menhaden?”

We are also asking:

“Are there enough menhaden for the whole ecosystem?”

Something Has Changed

For many years, fish were often managed mostly by looking at one species at a time.

Menhaden helped change that conversation.

In 2020, fishery managers began using ecological reference points for Atlantic Menhaden. That means scientists consider the needs of predators—especially species such as striped bass—when deciding how much menhaden fishing should be allowed.

And there has been another recent change.

For 2026, managers reduced the coastwide amount of Atlantic Menhaden allowed to be caught by 20% compared with the previous limit. The population is still considered healthy, but scientists found that fishing pressure was above their preferred ecosystem target, so managers decided to be more cautious.

I think that is an important lesson.

Conservation does not always mean waiting until an animal is almost gone.

Sometimes it means paying attention early.

New York Has Helped Too

In 2019, New York passed a law that stopped the use of large purse-seine nets to harvest menhaden in state waters. These nets can surround an entire school of fish at once.

Conservation groups say this protection helped keep more menhaden along New York's coastline for predators such as whales, dolphins, fish, and seabirds.

And something amazing has happened.

As large schools of menhaden became more common near New York, predators followed them.

Whales followed the fish.

Birds followed the fish.

Bigger fish followed the fish.

It is almost like the ocean was reminding us:

Everything is connected.

What Can Kids Do?

It might seem difficult for a kid to help a fish that spends its life underwater.

But we can do more than we think.

• Keep plastic and trash out of beaches, bays, and storm drains.

• Learn about the fish living in our own neighborhood.

• Never leave fishing line or hooks behind.

• Observe schools of fish without disturbing wildlife feeding around them.

• Tell other people why small fish are important.

• Learn where seafood, fish oil, and other ocean products come from.

• Join shoreline cleanups.

• Draw, photograph, write, or make videos about local marine life.

• Ask questions about how people can use the ocean without taking too much.

Most importantly, do not ignore an animal just because it is small or ordinary-looking.

What Menhaden Taught Me

Before this project, I might have thought the most important ocean animals were whales, sharks, or dolphins.

Now I am not so sure.

A whale needs something to eat.

A striped bass needs something to eat.

An osprey needs something to eat.

And sometimes the animal holding all of those lives together is a little silver fish swimming in a giant school.

Menhaden taught me that importance is not always about being the biggest, strongest, or most beautiful.

Sometimes your importance comes from what you make possible for everyone else.

So next time you look at the ocean, do not look only for the whale.

Look for the little fish underneath it too.

Because if we want an ocean full of big animals, we also need an ocean full of small ones.