Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus)

Scientific name: Brevoortia patronus Goode, 1878

Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus)

The Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) is a marine fish of the family Clupeidae. Native range: Western Central Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico (Florida Bay, Gulf of Campeche, Mexico), but no certain records from Caribbean.

Biology

Occur inshore in summer, but at least some moving into deeper waters from October (Mississippi Delta area). Feed in dense schools, filtering phytoplankton, but probably also feed at the bottom. Apparently breed in winter (October to February, with a peak in January). Salinity tolerance range from 0.1-60 ppt, but the commercial catch is mostly from 5.0-24 ppt. Marketed fresh, salted or canned. Mainly used as source of fish oil; also as fish meal. Isopod is found in the mouth.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Brevoortia patronus
Family
Clupeidae (Herrings, shads and sardines)
Order
Clupeiformes (Herrings)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
35.0
Common length
20.0
Depth range
0–50 m (0–164 ft)
Environment
Marine; pelagic-neritic; depth range 0 - 50 m
Climate
Subtropical
Distribution
Western Central Atlantic: Gulf of Mexico (Florida Bay, Gulf of Campeche, Mexico), but no certain records from Caribbean.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: highly commercial
Resilience
High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.35-0.47)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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