Saving the Atlantic Herring

November 10, 2006

The Cape and Islands NPR Stations
Op-Ed
Peter Baker

Peter Baker speaks on NPR

If you’ve spent much time on the ocean off Cape Cod you’ve seen them. They’re small and scaly and shiny. They swim around in huge schools. They’re Atlantic herring and they’re the backbone of the Gulf of Maine and George’s Bank ecosystem. All our major recreational fish stocks eat them- whether it be a codfish, a haddock, striped bass, or tuna, you can bet that the favorite meal of your favorite fish is the Atlantic herring. And it’s not just other fish that love to feast on herring, it’s also the whales that you take your kids and grandkids out to see on whale watch trips. And it’s the sea birds that all you bird watchers peep. Probably no fish in the ocean is as important to the health of your favorite ocean inhabitant then the Atlantic herring.