The Most Important Fish in the Sea

First you see the birds— gulls, terns, cormorants, and ospreys wheeling overhead, then swooping down into a wide expanse of water dimpled as though by large raindrops. Silvery flashes and splashes erupt from thousands of small herringlike fish called menhaden. More birds arrive, and the air rings with shrill cries. The birds alert nearby anglers that a massive school of menhaden is under attack by bluefish. The razor-toothed blues tear at the menhaden like piranhas in a killing frenzy, gorging themselves, some killing even when they are too full to eat, some vomiting so they can kill and eat again. Beneath the blues, weakfish begin to circle, snaring the detritus of the carnage. Farther below, giant striped bass gobble chunks that get by the weakfish. From time to time a bass muscles its way up through the blues to take in whole menhaden. On the seafloor, scavenging crabs feast on ...