Es Exam- Herring

Front 1

Herring Species

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-Blueback
-Alewife
-Shad
-Located throughout the Bay and in tributaries
-Seasonal... leave the ocean and swim into fresh water to spawn. Late in winter and early spring

Front 2

Alewives and Blueback Herring

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-Enter Chesapeake March to spawn in tributaries
-Move into the Bay and spend the summer
-Migrate into the ocean for the winter
-Both species are important forage fish

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Menhaden

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-not a herring per se.. ocean spawners
-members of clupeidae like the herring and alewife
-migrate from ocean into bay in spring... return to ocean in the fall
-Dense Menhaden schools in summer
-important endangered fishery

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Atlantic Manhaden- Keystone species

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-Forked tail swim up to 2 miles/day
-Well camoflaged-light on ventral surface and darkblue on dorsal
-lateral line for sensing and maintaining schools

Front 5

Consuming Menhaden

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-omega protein very significant
-not used for human food directly since it is oily and full of small bones
-the most important fish caught along Atlantic and Gulf coasts

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Menhaden Protein

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-Only about 10 cents at dock
-Used to make feed for chickens pigs and cattle
-Important food for predatory fish like mackarel bluefish and rockfish.

Front 7

Menhaden problems

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-threatened species in teh bay.. eastern stocks
-Menhaden crash may=ecosystem crash.. they control plankton and provide forage base.

Front 8

Menhaden problem species affects others

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-lack of menhaden makes striped bass move to other invertebrates for food... less nutritional value.
-results in loss of muscle and decrease in length to weight ratio.. long, lean stripers.

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Menhaden- bottom up control

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-Filter feeders.. reduce phytoplankton that decrease light and cause "dead zones"
-reduce impacts of "supply-side" nutrients
-The chesapeake had a benthic filter feeder-oysters and pelagic filter feeder- menhaden

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menhaden decline continued

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-large oceanic schools no longer abundant
-industry now focuses on estuaries particularly the chesapeake

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Decline in menhaden

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causes an increase in jellyfish

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Emiliano Zapata

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-1877-1919
-mexican agrarian reformer
-revolutionist
-guerilla leader 1911-1916

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Omega

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-argues that menhaden are not being overfished and that there are no ecological associated with decline
-they have become a convenient political target of those with concerns about commercial fishing- large boats close to shore more conspiciuous
-loss of adult fish in east coast areas due to cyclic trends in population
-however, others argue that the industry destroyed its own fishery and that increased catch of zeroes (fish less than a year old) will cause more problems
-argues that striped bass are eating the juvenile menhaden
-increasing net sizes used would decrease catch of juveniles
-soy products could replace much of the menhaden used.

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Some options

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-increase mesh size
-close fishing season after dec 1
-put the bay off limits to menhaden fishing

Front 15

Shad in the Chesapeake

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-shad are among the first to enter the bay in february
-spawn through april in fresh water
-adult shad return to sea in june
-young shad remain through summer and move to sea in fall
-remain at sea for 3-6 years then return to spawn

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shad- poor mans salmon

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-historically an important fishery... abundant
-food and even fertilizer
-also culturally ingrained in pa and md. shad roe and shad bakes are common in the spring