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Small Pelagics icon

Description of forage fish:

Forage fish are small fish (such as sand lance), the young age classes of larger fish (such as cod in their first year of life), and invertebrates (such as small squids) that are common prey for seabirds, marine mammals, and large fish. Examples of forage fish include anchovies, sardines, shad, and menhaden, many of which form large schools and are referred to as “small pelagics”. The number and distribution of forage fish vary widely, depending on multiple annually-varying factors i.e. the availability of light, nutrients, dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity, predation, abundance of phytoplankton and zooplankton, etc. Forage fish are known to exhibit “boom and bust” cycles of abundance in response to these conditions. 

Forage fish are a critical part of marine food webs and important to monitor because so many other organisms depend on them. Some small pelagics are also the targets of important fisheries. We present indicators of the annual total biomass of small pelagics/forage fish in the Alaska, California Current, and Northeast regions, as well as selected taxa in the Gulf of Mexico region.

 

Data:

Data for forage fish and small pelagics were obtained from regional NOAA Integrated Ecosystem Assessment Program teams that produce indicators and Ecosystem Status Reports. For more information https://www.integratedecosystemassessment.noaa.gov/





National: Units, time series, and species vary by region for this indicator, so no national score is provided.

 

For the most up to date data, please reference the original source linked above.

Understanding the Time series plots

Time series plots show the changes in each indicator as a function of time, over the period 1980-present. Each plot also shows horizontal lines that indicate the median (middle) value of that indicator, as well as the 10th and 90th percentiles, each calculated for the entire period of measurement. Time series plots were only developed for datasets with at least 10 years of data. Two symbols located to the right of each plot describe how recent values of an indicator compare against the overall series. A black circle indicates whether the indicator values over the last five years are on average above the series 90th percentile (plus sign), below the 10th percentile (minus sign), or between those two values (solid circle). Beneath that an arrow reflects the trend of the indicator over the last five years; an increase or decrease greater than one standard deviation is reflected in upward or downward arrows respectively, while a change of less than one standard deviation is recorded by a left-right arrow.

Graph

Alaska - Eastern Bering Sea

The five-year forage fish biomass average is very low compared to the median value

graph of forage fish for the Alaska region from 1980-2020

Values correspond to estimated total forage biomass in millions of tons

 

Description of time series:

The time series describes the aggregate forage fish biomass in the Eastern Bering Sea from 1987 to 2021. While there was no trend between 2016 and 2021 in the biomass of forage fish, values were below the 10th percentile historically. Due to COVID-19 no data was collected in 2020.

 

Indicator source information:

This indicator from the includes adult and juvenile pollock, herring, capelin, eulachon, sandlance, pelagic rockfish, salmon, squid, and other forage fish. More information about the EBS Forage indicator can be found on the Ecosystem Status Reports For The Gulf Of Alaska, Bering Sea And Aleutian Islands page

 

Data background and caveats:

This index aggregates survey biomass estimates for key forage fish species in the eastern Bering Sea. The constituents are members of the “forage fish” group included as Ecosystem Components in the Bering Sea - Aleutian Islands Fishery Management Plan: eulachon, Pacific capelin, sand lance species, rainbow smelt, Pacific sandfish, and a group of minor smelt species. This aggregate does not include important forage species such as age-0 walleye pollock or Pacific herring. The biomass estimates are from the eastern Bering Sea shelf bottom trawl survey including the northwestern survey strata 82 and 90. Because this survey is not optimized for small pelagic fishes, the data should be viewed with caution.

California Current - Southern CCE

Due to COVID-19 no data was collected in 2020 or 2021 so there is no proper status or trend update. 

graph of forage fish for the California Current region from 1980-2020

Values correspond to relative coolwater forage abundance index score

 

Description of time series:

Due to COVID-19 no data was collected in 2020 or 2021 so there is no proper status or trend update. 

 

Indicator source information:

This indicator is produced with data curated by the California Current Integrated Ecosystem Assessment team. This general indicator of average combined forage biomass includes the following species but is often dominated by anchovy and sardine: 

 

  • larval anchovy (Engraulis mordax);
  • larval California smoothtongue (Leuroglossus stilbius);
  • larval croakers (Genyonemus spp.);
  • larval eared blacksmelt (Lipolagus ochotensis);
  • larval English sole (Parophrys vetulus); 
  • southern mesopelagic  larval fish (NA, multi-species);
  • larval hake (Merluccius productus);
  • larval jack mackerel (Trachurus symmetricus);
  • larval market squid (Doryteuthis opalescens);
  • Larval northern lampfish (Stenobrachius leucopsarus); 
  • larval Pacific mackerel (Scomber japonicus) ; 
  • larval sanddab (Citharichthys spp.); 
  • larval sardine (Sardinops sagax); 
  • Larval rockfishes (Sebastes spp.);
  • larval slender sole (Lyopsetta exilis)

 

Data background and caveats:

Units, time series, and species vary by region for this indicator, so no national score is provided. Best practices and caveats vary by region:

  • CCE
    • This indicator only includes data from surveys of the southern extent of the California Current region in the Spring. Index calculations are as follows: Larval fish data summed across all stations of the CalCOFI survey in spring (units are in number under 10 sq. m of surface area; ln(abundance+1)).
    •  

Northeast

Between 2017 and 2022 the spring biomass of planktivores in the Northeast was greater than the median value of all spring planktivore biomass between 1978 and 2022.

graph of forage fish for the Northeast region from 1980-2020

Values correspond to forage biomass observed per tow in kg

 

Description of time series:

Between 2018 and 2022 the biomass of spring planktivore forage fish showed a significant trend upward but values remain within the 10th and 90th percentile. 

 

Indicator information:

Forage fish or otherwise known as small pelagics are fish and invertebrates (like squids) that inhabit - the pelagic zone - the open ocean. Small pelagic species are often important to fisheries and serve as forage for commercially and recreationally important fish, as well as other ecosystem species (e.g. seabirds and marine mammals). The number and distribution of pelagic fish vary regionally, depending on multiple physical and ecological factors (i.e., the availability of light, nutrients, dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity, predation, abundance of phytoplankton and zooplankton, etc.). Small pelagics are known to exhibit “boom and bust” cycles of abundance in response to these conditions. Examples include anchovies, sardines, shad, menhaden and the fish that feed on them.

This indicator is produced by the Northeast Integrated Ecosystem Assessment team and represents Spring Planktivore biomass in kg^tow -1.

 

Data background and caveats:

Units, time series, and species vary by region for this indicator, so no national score is provided. Best practices and caveats vary by region.

No Caveats.

Southeast

Due to COVID-19 no data was collected in 2020 or 2021 so there is no status or trend update.

graph of forage fish for the Southeast region from 1980-2020

Values correspond to catch per unit effort index score

 

Description of time series:

The data presented in this time series is South Atlantic Menhaden adults (age 1+). Due to COVID-19 no data was collected in 2020 or 2021 so there is no status or trend update.

 

Indicator information:

Forage fish or otherwise known as small pelagics are fish and invertebrates (like squids) that inhabit - the pelagic zone - the open ocean. Small pelagic species are often important to fisheries and serve as forage for commercially and recreationally important fish, as well as other ecosystem species (e.g. seabirds and marine mammals). The number and distribution of pelagic fish vary regionally, depending on multiple physical and ecological factors (i.e., the availability of light, nutrients, dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity, predation, abundance of phytoplankton and zooplankton, etc.). Small pelagics are known to exhibit “boom and bust” cycles of abundance in response to these conditions. Examples include anchovies, sardines, shad, menhaden and the fish that feed on them. 

 

The Southeast Atlantic forage indicator is the Menhaden CPUE Index score used by the Southeast Integrated Ecosystem Assessment team in their upcoming Ecosystem Status Report. Menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) are thought to play a substantial role in ecosystem structure and function. At the time of writing, the report is under review and data are not publicly available.

 

 

Data background and caveats:

Units, time series, and species vary by region for this indicator, so no national score is provided. Best practices and caveats vary by region. 

 

No Caveats.

 

Resources

CalCOFI Small Pelagic Fish Management

The California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) are a unique partnership of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, NOAA Fisheries Service and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

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What are pelagic fish?

An explainer that defines what "pelagic fish" are from the National Ocean Service of NOAA

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Northeast IEA Small Pelagic Indicator

Small-medium pelagic schooling fish and squid species are important to both fisheries and food webs. This group includes Atlantic herring, river herrings, Atlantic mackerel, butterfish, menhaden, and sandlance in the Northeast US. Forage fish in general can include any small pelagic plankton feeders, whether fished or unfished. Predation on forage fishes creates an important trophic link between the plankton and higher trophic levels. In the Northeast US, commercial fishing of all forage fishes combined contributes less to the removal of fish biomass than does natural predation on this category in aggregate. Regulating fishery catch for forage species is important to maintain both sustainable fisheries and predator populations. Commercial catches of Northeast US forage fish (Atlantic herring and mackerel) peaked in the 1970s, with lower catches since then, and surveys showing aggregate forage biomass increases from an early 1980s low.

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Southwest Fisheries Science Center Coastal Pelagic Species

The Fisheries Resources Division conducts research on coastal pelagic and highly migratory marine species in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. They focus on the ecology, ecosystems, and fisheries of sardine, anchovy, mackerels, tunas, and sharks, as well as conduct research on abalone. Our programs collect fishery data, conduct stock assessments and economic analyses, conduct surveys on fish and invertebrate life stages using various advanced technologies, and study their genetic structure and aquaculture potential.

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Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Status Report data

GitHub portal for data sets and plotting codes for Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Status Report

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Alaska IEA Ecosystem Status Report

Ecosystem Status report information from the Alaska Integrated Ecosystem Assessment Program.

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