Bunker debunked—the mystery of the menhaden

Anglers in Cape May County are familiar with a popular bait fish known as bunker but few know the local history of this amazing fish.
The Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus), better known as bunker, is found in coastal waters from Nova Scotia to northern Florida. Blue-black in color with metallic scales and forked tail, is one of the favorite foods of striped bass, bluefish, sea trout, tuna and sharks, making it a great choice for bait.
The story of the menhaden dates back to pre-Colonial days. The American Indian used fish to fertilize corn seeds and the colonists, recognizing the success of this method, copied it. Then according to legend, a Maine housewife discovered that boiling menhaden and skimming off the oil made a satisfactory substitute for expensive whale oil. This fish considered inedible because of its excessive oil, was proving to be of great value in other ways.
Locally, the menhaden industry was a vital part of life in Wildwood from 1920 until 1965. Charlie Aspenberger came from Sweden in the late 1890s and opened a menhaden processing plant on the site of the current Wildwood Sewage Treatment Plant and Pier 47 on Route 47 in Rio Grande. Business grew as new uses for the oil and by-products were discovered: cosmetics, oil to hone tools, chicken feed, rust-resistant paint and varnish, ink, linoleum, and the ultimate use, the diet supplement known popularly as Omega 3.
Menhaden are caught by seine fishing because they stay in tight schools and won’t take a hook. They spend most of their time in shallow water or can be seen swimming close to the surface, a silvery shimmer in the water.
The seine boats used in those early days were quite distinctive with a towering mast topped with a crow’s nest that served as a look-out to spot a school of fish. (In later years, spotter planes would alert the captains to the location of the fish.) Once located, a mate in a dinghy used a striker oar to create a disturbance to attract the fish or to bring them back around into the net. A single net was as big as a football field and could catch 40 to 50,000 fish.
At the factory the menhaden were cooked with live steam to break down the oil cells, and then were pressed to separate the oil. The remaining fish pieces were dried in kilns and crushed into meal used for farm feed. The whole process was all-natural, the only chemical used was salt, and produced little or no waste.
Carl Aspenberger Sr. took the plant over in 1945. At that time, the smallest boat was 110 tons, with the whole fleet having seven to 10 boats. Changes in the industry came fast. Hydraulics systems reduced the number of crew needed and the introduction of refrigeration allowed them to stay at sea longer and travel further from port.
Aspenberger sold the plant in 1952 as the old fleet became outdated. Under new owners, Zapata-Haynie, a lab on the premises tested new products, and men went out on faster, bigger boats. But while business was good, other factors challenged the industry and the plant closed permanently in 1965.
Carl Aspenberger Jr., Sam Cardile, and his son, Leroy, recalled working at the plant during its boom time. They acknowledged that it was a tough life but there was money to be made. They agreed that best part was working on the sea, sailing out at night so they were on the ‘field’ by daylight.
“They were interesting days, a simple life, no e-mail, air conditioning, just the wheelhouse, compass, alarm clock and charts,” said Carl Jr., referring to himself as the last of a breed, Sam Cardile described the life as “good, healthy, clean, although smelly, it was a rewarding job. You slept good and the fish never talked back.”
In 1965 the Menhaden industry in New Jersey was being strained. A variety of reasons are given: the fish population was not sufficient to keep the plant going, foreign imports created competition, change in the migratory pattern of the fish, pollution and the increasing use of synthetics replaced the use of fish oil. Others say that coastal development forced out the smelly plants, or that as the Virginia fleets got bigger, New Jersey plants died out.
Today, the menhaden stock is in very good shape, according to Peter Himchak, acting chief of Bureau of NJ Bureau of Marine Fishery. While there are only a few reduction plants left, the biggest in Reedville, Va., there is a quota on landings of Atlantic menhaden to avoid depletion of this important stock. Currently they are not considered overfished or over harvested. Menhaden for bait is still a big industry in New Jersey with the latest available statistics ranking New Jersey second only to Virginia for mean landings of bait fish.
More pounds of menhaden are landed each year than any other fish in the United States, with coastwide landings ranging from 300,000 to 400,000 metric tons since the mid-1970s and the Atlantic Menhaden Advisory Committee recommended no further restrictions on fishing are necessary to manage the fishery.
The menhaden continues to impact our everyday lives. Providing a unique, high-protein blend of nutrients, it is found in cattle, swine, poultry and aquaculture feeds. The oil, rich in Omega-3s, is an FDA-approved health food additive and is used in pasta sauces, salad dressings, sports drinks, baked goods and soups. It is mixed with other ingredients for cooking oils and shortenings, as well as industrial products including lubricants, plasticizers, alkyd resins, and oils for paint and lipstick.
While the local processing plant is long gone, the obscure menhaden continue to sustain us. It’s not just anglers who rely on this fish’s future.