Gulf Menhaden Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Deep, strongly compressed body with a large head relative to body size
• Bright silvery sides with a blue-green to bronze sheen on the back
• Prominent dark spot on the shoulder just behind the gill cover, usually followed by a row of smaller, fainter spots
• Deeply forked tail and a single short dorsal fin set at midbody
• Belly lined with sharp, saw-edged scutes; typically 12-20 cm (5-8 in)

Common look-alikes

• Atlantic menhaden: nearly identical, but ranges are largely separated (Gulf vs. Atlantic coasts) and Gulf menhaden tend to be slightly deeper-bodied
• Scaled sardine: smaller head and usually just one shoulder spot instead of a trailing row of spots
• Threadfin shad: much smaller mouth and a single filament trailing off the dorsal fin, which menhaden lack

Where you'll see one

Huge, tightly packed surface schools of Gulf menhaden move through the shallow coastal and estuarine waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico, from Texas to Florida, entering marshes and river mouths as juveniles.