Forage fish
Forage fish are small, often schooling fish that feed largely on plankton and serve as prey for larger fish, seabirds, and marine mammals.
Plankton: Small organisms that drift in water, including photosynthetic algae and animal consumers. Plankton supplies much of the food forage fish convert into animal biomass.
Forage fish fisheries: Commercial fisheries that harvest small schooling fish for food, fishmeal, or fish oil. These fisheries directly remove prey that predators depend on.
Atlantic puffin: A North Atlantic seabird that feeds its chicks small fish, including sand eels and herring. Puffin breeding success can fall when suitable forage fish become scarce.
Anchovy: A small schooling fish in the family Engraulidae, found in marine and freshwater habitats. Anchovies are a prominent forage-fish group and major commercial catch.
Schooling fish: Fish that swim together in coordinated groups, often maintaining close spacing and synchronized movement. Schooling is a common defense and feeding strategy among forage fish.
Fishmeal: A protein-rich animal feed ingredient made by drying and grinding fish or fish-processing waste. Large forage-fish catches are processed into fishmeal for aquaculture and livestock.
Humpback whale: A large baleen whale that feeds on krill and schooling fish in many ocean regions. Some humpback populations rely on dense schools of forage fish as prey.
Sardine: A common name for several small, oily schooling fish, especially species of the genus Sardina. Sardines exemplify forage fish that feed on plankton and form dense schools.
Diel vertical migration: The daily movement of aquatic organisms between deeper water and the surface. Forage fish often track migrating plankton through the water column.
Fish oil: Oil extracted from fish tissues, used in foods, supplements, and animal feeds. Forage fish such as anchovies and sardines are major sources of fish oil.