Mid-Atlantic Menhaden Migration Mayhem!

The annual summer Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) migration is on, and fishing couldn’t be better in waters of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania–especially shark fishing.

Menhaden–or bunker, mossbunker, or pogy, depending on where you’re from–are attracting large schools of bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix), and usually right be hind the blues are the sharks, looking to cash in on schooling feeding opportunities. Blue sharks (Prionace glauca), shortfin makos (Isurus oxyrinchus), and threshers (Alopias vulpinus) are all keeping Atlantic anglers busy these days.

In addition, as is often the case, stripers (Morone saxatilis) are schooling up with the blues in their hunt for menhaden.

The Atlantic menhaden run is one of the primary bait migrations in the Atlantic. The mendahen, part of the herring family, As far as ocean ecology is concerned, the menhaden is a crucial species. Menhaden are filter feeders that feed on plankton in midwater. The adult mendahden can filter as much as four gallons of water per minute and are, thus, an important part of oceanic systems for clarifying ocean water.

Historically, menhaden have been harvested for fertilizer. American history lore identifies menhaden as the fish that Squanto taught the Pilgrims to bury in their crops as fertilizer.

Given their historical schooling sizes–some reports have identified menhaden schools as large as 40 miles across–menhaden have long held a commercial value used as animal feed, oil consumption, and fuel oil. Of course, as is the case with many species, menhaden numbers have drastically decreased in recent years.