The Ancillary Harvest of Atlantic Menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus, Roe on the North Carolina Coast

Marine Fisheries Review, Wntr, 2000 by Joseph W. Smith, Dean W. Ahrenholz

Introduction

Extraction of fish roe for food is a common practice worldwide and includes a diverse array of fish families. Historically, roe from sturgeon (Acipenseridae) has long been processed into caviar and is often referred to as "black gold," since it may be one of the highest priced fisheries products in the world (Iversen, 1990). As worldwide demand for fish roe has increased in recent years (Iversen, 1990), roe products have been developed and prepared from such diverse species groups as the lumpfish (Cyclopteridae) in the North Atlantic (Stevenson and Baird, 1988), flying-fishes (Exocoetidae) in the tropics, capelin (Osmeridae) in more boreal waters (Iversen, 1990), and striped mullet (Mugilidae) along the southeastern United States (Leard et al., 1995).

In U.S. coastal waters, herrings of the family Clupeidae are among the most sought-after fishes for their roe. By far, the most lucrative herring roe fisheries occur in Alaska for the Pacific herring, Clupea harengus pallasi, with smaller quantities of Atlantic herring, Clupea harengus harengus, harvested for the roe trade off New England; most processed roe from these fisheries is exported to Japan (Herrfurth, 1986). Along the U.S. southeastern coast, several anadromous, alosine clupeids, namely, the blueback herring, Alosa aestivalis; the hickory shad, A. mediocris; and the American shad, A. sapidissima, are highly esteemed for their flesh and roe, and are targeted by traditional riverine and inshore fisheries (Smith, 1907; Manooch, 1984).

On a coastal basis, the migratory, estuarine-dependent Atlantic menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus, is probably the most abundant clupeid on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard. Atlantic menhaden form large, nearshore surface schools from spring through December, and are the targets of a large, industrial purse-seine fishery for fish meal, fish oil, and fish solubles (Smith, 1991). Between 1995 and 1999, annual landings for reduction have averaged about 260,000 t [yr.sup.-1], although participation in the fishery by 1999 had dwindled to two factories and about 15 vessels, down from five factories and about 35 vessels in 1990. Historical estimates of maximum sustainable yield from the fishery range from 370,000 to 470,000 t [yr.sup.-1] (ASMFC, 1999).

During fall and winter Atlantic menhaden migrate south around the North Carolina capes, and support a temporal segment of the purse-seine fishery called the Fall Fishery (Smith et al., 1987; Smith, 1999). Schools of roe-bearing fish are often harvested by purse-seine vessels from the Carteret County port of Beaufort, North Carolina, and are landed at a local reduction factory. At various points in the harvest and processing operations, small amounts of menhaden roe are manually extracted from whole fish for local consumption, and the carcasses are returned to the reduction processing stream. Although crew members of menhaden vessels from Reedville, Va., and numerous ports in Louisiana and Mississippi extract small quantities of roe for home consumption(1), the practice appears unique and endemic to the area surrounding the port of Beaufort to the extent that minor quantities of menhaden roe enter local retail seafood markets. In this paper we describe 1) the seasonality and availability of roe Atlantic menhaden in the vicinity of the port of Beaufort, North Carolina, 2) the biological characteristics of the roe fish harvested, and 3) the roe extraction techniques and disposition.

Observations

Seasonality and Availability of Roe Menhaden Along the North Carolina Coast

Atlantic menhaden stratify by size and age along the U.S. east coast during summer, with the oldest and largest fish migrating as far north as the Gulf of Maine (Nicholson, 1972). Although spawning occurs during every month of the year (Judy and Lewis, 1983; Ahrenholz, 1991), spawning intensity is thought to increase as adults move south along the Mid Atlantic U.S. coast during October and November, peaks off the North Carolina coast in winter, and continues at lower levels as adults move north again in spring (Ahrenholz, 1991). Most Atlantic menhaden attain sexual maturity as late age-2 fish just prior to turning age-3 (Higham and Nicholson, 1964; Lewis et al., 1987).

All age classes of Atlantic menhaden in the coastal population from age-0 to 5 may be available during the Fall Fishery, although catches and fishing effort are highly weather-dependent (Smith et al., 1987). Two size classes of ripening adult fish are recognized by menhaden fishermen in the Beaufort area (Fig. 1). "Forerunners," so called because they are usually the first spawners encountered in the Fall Fishery (Frye, 1978), are the smallest and youngest fish of the two groups. We suspect that the earliest "forerunners" to appear off the North Carolina coast may be local fish which have recently attained sexually maturity. Their roe sacs are relatively small, and fishermen sometimes forego opportunities to extract roe from "forerunners" because of low roe yields. "Mammy shad" are the largest and oldest class of spawners occurring in the Fall Fishery. Catches of "mammy shad" are much anticipated because of their relatively high roe yields.