Almost all our prized fish, as well as mammals and sea birds, feed on menhaden. They filter marine waters, averting algal blooms. Think of them as the ocean’s liver. ¶ Although the ecosystem needs them, more menhaden have been hauled out of American waters than all other fish combined. ¶ Each year a single company, Omega Protein, boils and grinds millions of tons of Atlantic and Gulf menhaden, converting them into oils and meal that reappear as lipstick, chicken feed, linoleum, cat food.
