#NTVArtists - Made in Menhaden: How an Unassuming Baitfish Fuels NY’s Marine Ecosystem (featuring footage + photos from Tim Regan (@SouthForkSalt))

They go by many names - Bunker, Menhaden, American Sardine, Pogy (not Porgy!), Mossbunker, Bug-head, Fat-back. No matter the nomenclature, it is indisputable that these pedestrian-looking baitfish are an important cog in the machine of the marine ecosystem around Long Island. They filter our water, they are an amazing source of omega-3 proteins with a myriad of human-based uses and, perhaps most importantly, menhaden are the primary food source for a lot of our ocean’s top predators. As Paul Greenberg pointed out in his 2009 NY Times Op-Ed, “Nearly every fish a fish eater likes to eat eats menhaden”.

Fishing, Long Island Wildlife, NTVartists, Conservation, Long Island FishingRichard J NardoJuly 31, 2020Menhaden, Bunker, Marine Ecosystem, Conservation, South Fork Salt, Fishing, Long Island Fishing, Responsible Fishing, Striper, Striped Bass, Bluefin Tuna, Bluefish, Humpback Whales, Humpack Whales Long Island, Long Island Whales, Dolphins, Bottlenose Dolphins, Dolphins Long Island, Osprey Long Island, ASMFC, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Menhaden DEfenders, Bunker Conservation, Tim Regan, Water Conservation, Harbor Seals, Whale Watching Long Island, Sharks, Long Island Sharks, Sharks on Long Island, Thresher Sharks, Atlantic States Fisheries Commission, Andrew Cuomo, Todd Kaminsky, Steven Englebright, A257, S2317, Multispecies Approach to Conservation, Rich Nardo, NTVLI Comment