Mid-Atlantic Forage Fish

Article August 28, 2017

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