Rutgers Professor H. Bruce Franklin calls a small, oily, bony fish called the menhaden "The Most Important Fish in the Sea." To most people it's not of much interest except maybe as bait, but one company called Omega Protein depends on it for 230 million pounds of menhaden per year, the source of their $175 million + of annual revenue. According to this Time magazine article, 13 of 15 Atlantic states have banned harvesting of the fish because of its role as a keystone in the food chain. It scarfs algae, basically filtering 7 gallons per minute, and in doing so builds up lots of omega-3 fatty acids in its tiny body. Omega Protein uses these oils in a variety of products, including pet food and fish oil pills.
It turns out that Omega Protein, a Houston-based company, has managed to keep regulation of the Virginia menhaden fishery out of the hands of the governmental body we'd expect to have oversight: the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. This week, a couple of Virginia legislators introduced bills to allow the fishery to be regulated, but their efforts were stomped.
If someone's getting $175 million out of the little fish, that's a good thing- jobs are created in Virginia and Houston. On the other hand, fish from stripers to crabs depend on the fish both as food and for its filtering capabilities. If we want a clean bay, we'll need the menhaden's help in cleaning it up. Question is, how much is that clean bay worth?
**If anyone's looking for a paper topic, I think this is a good one. Start by reading this article and come talk to me.**
