Abstract |
Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus Latrobe, 1802) are schooling pelagic fish distributed in nearshore and estuarine habitats along the western Atlantic Ocean from Nova Scotia to central Florida (Nicholson 1978, Murdy et al. 1997). Menhaden are estuarine-dependent, but each year large schools undertake extensive north-south seasonal migrations along the coast (Reintjes 1969, Nicholson 1978). The majority of the adult population is thought to aggregate off Cape Hatteras, NC in the winter months, and menhaden begin migrating northward with the onset of spring. By summer, they are stratified by age and size along the coast, with the larger older fish migrating the farthest north. |