Mid-Atlantic Forage Fish

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Mid-Atlantic Forage Fish

Two sailfish hunt a school of Spanish sardines. Despite their name, Spanish sardines are found in the U.S. mid-Atlantic and are among the forage fish species now protected from unsustainable fishing.
Tim Fitzharris/Minden Pictures
Ocean predators, such as seabirds and larger fish, prey on ballyhoo, which are now protected by new rules covering fishing of forage species in U.S. Atlantic waters.
Matthew Watson/Alamy Stock Photo
Humpback whales like this one rely on huge amounts of small prey fish, including those now protected from unsustainable fishing in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region.
Leight Hilbert
Cuttlefish like these are officially cephalopods, not fish, but they are still included among the prey species protected from unsustainable fishing in the U.S. mid-Atlantic.
Getty Images
An Atlantic puffin holds a beakful of sand lance, one of the species now safeguarded by protective rules in the U.S. mid-Atlantic.
Getty Images
Copepods are among the smallest species now protected in the mid-Atlantic, but they provide important food for some of the largest species, such as the endangered North Atlantic right whale.
Natural Visions/Alamy Stock Photo
Silversides are among the most common forage fish in U.S. Atlantic waters, and they are among the species now protected from unsustainable fishing in the mid-Atlantic.
Chris Pickerell/Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program
Juvenile silversides eat even smaller organisms. Silversides, which are now protected in federal mid-Atlantic waters, serve as prey for larger species, helping to transfer energy to the top of the food web.
The Pew Charitable Trusts
Striped bass, a favorite recreational fishing species, thrive where forage fish are abundant. The new rule protecting prey species in the mid-Atlantic from unsustainable fishing helps secure a bright fishing future for such predators.
Capt. John McMurray
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Peter Baker
Peter Baker Director
Conservation Canada
Article August 28, 2017

Big Investment in Little Fish

NOAA rule benefits America’s fisheries, predators, and ocean health
Quick View
Article August 28, 2017

Forage fish, the small species that support the marine food web, won new safeguards along the U.S. Atlantic coast on Friday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) announced a final rule directing fishery managers to create science-based measures, such as catch limits, before fishing can begin in federal waters (from 3 to 200 miles offshore) on more than 50 species not already targeted by commercial fishermen. The rule will also help ensure a steady supply of forage fish for the many predators that feed on them, such as striped bass, bald eagles, and humpback whales, and increase security for businesses that depend on healthy ocean systems. 

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Atlantic Ocean Mid Atlantic

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