Help Save Menhaden: Quite Possibly, the Most Important Fish in the Sea

The humble Atlantic menhaden may not look like much, but this fish plays a vital role in ocean food chains. Striped bass, bluefish, whales, dolphins, sharks, and birds like osprey and terns depend on menhaden as a critical food source.

But unrestricted industrial fishing endangers menhaden — and in turn, the rest of the marine ecosystem. Already, menhaden have plunged 90% from historic levels.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has already voted to rebuild the menhaden population. But the Commission must follow on that promise with a coast-wide catch limit.

Take action: http://www.PewEnvironment.Org/Menhaden.