## Most Important Fish in the Sea: Menhaden and America **By Franklin H. Bruce** ### A Comprehensive Guide to the Atlantic Menhaden and Its Vital Role in American History and Ecology This comprehensive and groundbreaking book delves into the captivating world of the Atlantic menhaden, a keystone species that has played a pivotal role in shaping American history and ecology for centuries. ### Historical Significance For over 400 years, the Atlantic menhaden has been an indispensable resource for human societies along the Atlantic coast. Its rich nutritional value and abundance made it a staple food source for Native American tribes, European settlers, and enslaved people. From its humble beginnings as bait for cod fishing to its use in the production of fertilizers and animal feed, the menhaden has left an indelible mark on American agriculture and industry. ### Ecological Importance The Atlantic menhaden is a crucial component of coastal ecosystems, serving as a primary food source for a wide range of marine species, including striped bass, bluefish, and dolphins. Its filter-feeding behavior helps maintain water quality by removing algae and nutrients from the water column. Additionally, its massive schools provide shelter and feeding grounds for juvenile fish and other marine life. ### Current Challenges Despite its historical and ecological significance, the Atlantic menhaden population has faced significant declines in recent decades due to overfishing and habitat loss. This has raised concerns among scientists, conservationists, and fishermen alike. ### A Call to Action "Most Important Fish in the Sea" not only provides a fascinating account of the Atlantic menhaden's past but also offers a timely call to action for its future. By understanding the vital role this species plays in American history and ecology, we can work together to protect and restore its populations, ensuring its continued existence for generations to come.

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In this brilliant portrait of the oceans' unlikely hero, H. Bruce Franklin shows how menhaden have shaped America's national-and natural-history, and why reckless overfishing now threatens their place in both. Since Native Americans began using menhaden as fertilizer, this amazing fish has greased the wheels of U.S. agriculture and industry. By the mid-1870s, menhaden had replaced whales as a principal source of industrial lubricant, with hundreds of ships and dozens of factories along the eastern seaboard working feverishly to produce fish oil. Since the Civil War, menhaden have provided the largest catch of any American fishery. Today, one company-Omega Protein-has a monopoly on the menhaden "reduction industry." Every year it sweeps billions of fish from the sea, grinds them up, and turns them into animal feed, fertilizer, and oil used in everything from linoleum to health-food supplements. The massive harvest wouldn't be such a problem if menhaden were only good for making lipstick and soap. But they are crucial to the diet of bigger fish and they filter the waters of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, playing an essential dual role in marine ecology perhaps unmatched anywhere on the planet. As their numbers have plummeted, fish and birds dependent on them have been decimated and toxic algae have begun to choke our bays and seas. In Franklin's vibrant prose, the decline of a once ubiquitous fish becomes an adventure story, an exploration of the U.S. political economy, a groundbreaking history of America's emerging ecological consciousness, and an inspiring vision of a growing alliance between environmentalists and recreational anglers.

Author: Franklin, H. Bruce,
Publisher: Island Press
Illustration: N
Language: ENG
Title: Most Important Fish in the Sea: Menhaden and America
Pages: 00000 (Encrypted PDF)
On Sale: 2007-05-01
SKU-13/ISBN: 9781597261241
Category: Nature : Ecosystems & Habitats - Oceans & Seas
Category: Computers : Programming Languages - General
Category: Nature : Animals - Fish