Gear & Training Contents




Atlantic Menhaden

Scientific Name:
Brevoortia tyrannus

Atlantic Menhaden:
A Profile

Family:
Clupeidae

Size:
12"-15"
1 lb.

Common Names:
menhaden, bunker, mossbunker, pogy, fatback, alewife, bugfish, skipjack

Although this herring is generally considered unfit for human consumption, the menhaden fishery is one of the most important and productive fisheries on the Atlantic coast. For years, it has provided coastal communities with a stable source of employment and the nation with a major source of protein on a renewable and environmentally sound basis.