Atlantic Menhaden

At a glance

Atlantic Menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) is an IUCN Least Concern bony-fish species regulated in 5 of 66 jurisdictions tracked by CatchRules across the U.S. and Canada.

Confirmed by 2,865 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with New York, Maryland, and New Jersey the top jurisdictions by observation count.

Notable details

• A single school can contain millions of fish, forming dense dark slicks visible from shore.
• They are filter feeders, swimming open-mouthed to strain phytoplankton from the water.
• They are critical prey for striped bass, bluefish, bottlenose dolphins, humpback whales, and ospreys.
• Indigenous peoples and colonial farmers used menhaden as crop fertilizer for centuries.
• Can grow up to 15 inches (38 cm) long and live up to 10 years.

Where Atlantic Menhaden are seen

• New York685 iNat obs
• Maryland532 iNat obs
• New Jersey444 iNat obs
• Massachusetts273 iNat obs
• Virginia203 iNat obs
• Connecticut180 iNat obs

Jurisdictions with rules for Atlantic Menhaden

• ConnecticutUnited States · official source
• MarylandUnited States · official source
• New HampshireUnited States · official source
• New YorkUnited States · official source

Background

The Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) is a North American species of fish in the herring family, Clupeidae.

Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Atlantic Menhaden article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.

Other bony fish on CatchRules

• Atlantic Crevalle JackCaranx hippos
• Atlantic CroakerMicropogonias undulatus
• Atlantic CodGadus morhua
• Atlantic HerringClupea harengus