Bait fish

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Bait fish are small fishes caught for use as bait to attract large predatory fish, particularly game fish. Species used are typically those that are common and breed rapidly, making them easy to catch and in regular supply. Examples of marine bait fish are anchovies, halfbeaks, and scad. Freshwater bait fish include any fish of the minnow or carp family (Cyprinidae), sucker family (Catostomidae), top minnows or killifish family (Cyprinodontidae), shad family (Clupeidae), or sunfish family (Centrarchidae), excluding black basses and crappie.

Bait fish are consumed by sharks. Swimming in ocean water occupied with bait fish is dangerous, as these fish attract sharks.

[edit] Management and conservation

Although bait fish typically have populations that fluctuate rapidly anyway, and so can potentially sustain significant recreational and commercial fisheries, regulations may exist to prevent overexploitation, as in Arkansas and Massachusetts. Studies by fisheries and conservation agencies monitor the health of bait fish populations, allowing regional governments to set quotas ^[1].

[edit] References

1. ^ Mahmoudi, B & McBride, R: FA review of Florida’s halfbeak bait fishery and halfbeak biology, and a preliminary stock assessment Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission: 2002