Menhaden

Menhaden (Clupea menhaden), the name, especially in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, of a species of herring or shad, abundant off the eastern coast of the United States. Other local names are Whitefish and Hardhead (in Maine), Bony Fish and Mossbunker (in New York). It is much used for bait and is very rich in oil, while the refuse furnishes valuable manure. Economically it is one of the most important North American fishes. See G. B. Goode's Natural History of the Menhaden (Washington, 1879).