# Bait fish > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bait_fish > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bait_fish.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bait_fish > Source revision: 1308368660 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Fish used as bait to attract predatory fish}} [[Image:Anchovies-monterey.jpg|thumb|300px|right|[Anchovies](/source/Anchovies) are common baitfish in the ocean.]] [[file:ワキン20120701.JPG|thumb|300px|right|[Feeder Goldfish](/source/Common_goldfish) are common baitfish.]] {{See also|Forage fish}} '''Bait fish''' (or '''baitfish''') are small-sized [fish](/source/fish) caught and used by [angler](/source/angling)s as [bait](/source/bait_(luring_substance)) to attract larger [predatory fish](/source/predatory_fish), particularly [game fish](/source/game_fish). Baitfish species are typically those that are common and breed rapidly, making them easy to catch and in abundant supply. ==Overview== {{Unreferenced section|date=January 2021}} Examples of marine bait fish are [anchovies](/source/anchovy), [gudgeon](/source/gudgeon_(fish)), [halfbeak](/source/halfbeak)s such as [ballyhoo](/source/ballyhoo), and [scad](/source/Atlantic_horse_mackerel). Some larger fish such as [menhaden](/source/menhaden), [flying fish](/source/flying_fish) or [ladyfish](/source/ladyfish) may be considered bait fish in some circles, depending on the size of the gamefish being pursued. Freshwater bait fish include [minnow](/source/minnow)s from the [carp](/source/carp) family ([Cyprinidae](/source/Cyprinidae)), sucker family ([Catostomidae](/source/Catostomidae)), [topminnow](/source/topminnow)s from the [killifish](/source/killifish) [suborder](/source/suborder) ([Cyprinodontoidei](/source/Cyprinodontoidei)), [shad](/source/shad) family ([Clupeidae](/source/Clupeidae)), [sculpin](/source/sculpin) of the order [Scorpaeniformes](/source/Scorpaeniformes) and sunfish family ([Centrarchidae](/source/Centrarchidae)), excluding [black bass](/source/black_bass)es and [crappie](/source/crappie)s. Bait fish can be contrasted with [forage fish](/source/forage_fish). ''Bait fish'' is a term used particularly by recreational fishermen, although commercial fisherman also catch fish to bait [longlines](/source/Longline_fishing) and [traps](/source/Fishing_trap). ''Forage fish'' is a [fisheries](/source/fisheries) term, and is used in that context. Forage fish are small fish that are preyed on in the wild by larger predators for food. The predators can be other larger fish, [seabird](/source/seabird)s and [marine mammal](/source/marine_mammal)s. Bait fish, by contrast, are fish that are caught by humans to use as bait for other fish. The terms also overlap in the sense that most bait fish are also forage fish, and most forage fish can also be used as bait fish. Baitfish can be attracted either via scent, or by using light which actually works by attracting zooplankton, a primary food source for many baitfish, which are then drawn to the light. Bait fish can also be contrasted with [feeder fish](/source/feeder_fish). ''Feeder fish'' is a term used particularly in the context of fish [aquarium](/source/aquarium)s. It refers essentially the same concept, small fish that are eaten by larger fish, but adapted for use in a different context. Bait fish are consumed by larger, aquatic predators. Swimming in ocean water with bait fish can be dangerous, as these fish attract sharks. Bait fish will sometimes use [whale sharks](/source/whale_sharks) as a shield from their other predators such as [tuna](/source/tuna), as tuna are usually wary of approaching the sharks. The shark cannot attack the bait fish easily, as they constantly swim above them and are too fast for the shark to manoeuvre its mouth into position. However, the sharks eventually dive deep, where the bait fish cannot follow, and as the other predators finally dare attack the stranded bait fish, the shark comes back to eat numerous bait fish who are already preoccupied with the attacking tuna. ==Industry== There is a bait fish industry in North America, supplying mainly recreational fishermen, worth up to one billion dollars each year.Litvaka MK and Mandrak NE (1993) [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1577/1548-8446%281993%29018%3C0006%3AEOFBUI%3E2.0.CO%3B2 "Ecology of Freshwater Baitfish Use in Canada and the United States"] ''Fisheries'', '''18''' (12): 6–13. {{doi|10.1577/1548-8446(1993)018}} For the [southern United States](/source/southern_United_States) alone Mittelmark ''et al.'' 1993 reports this was $56 million in 1987. Mittelmark ''et al.'' 1993 provide an economic analysis of the industry in [Minnesota](/source/Minnesota) and budget and practice information at the enterprise level.{{cite journal | last1=Stone | first1=Nathan M. | last2=Kelly | first2=Anita M. | last3=Roy | first3=Luke A. | title=A Fish of Weedy Waters: Golden Shiner Biology and Culture | journal=[Journal of the World Aquaculture Society](/source/Journal_of_the_World_Aquaculture_Society) | publisher=[World Aquaculture Society](/source/World_Aquaculture_Society) ([Wiley](/source/Wiley_publishing)) | volume=47 | issue=2 | year=2016 | issn=0893-8849 | doi=10.1111/jwas.12269 | pages=152–200}}{{cite report | last1=Meronek | first1=Thomas G. | first2=Fred A. | last2=Copes | first3=Daniel W. | last3=Coble | title=The Bait Industry in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin | publisher=[Iowa State University](/source/Iowa_State_University) + [USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service](/source/USDA_Cooperative_State_Research%2C_Education_and_Extension_Service) (CSREES) | date=1997}} ==Management and conservation== Bait fish are often short-lived and proliferative spawners. This means their populations can [fluctuate rapidly](/source/Population_dynamics_of_fisheries), and they can often recover quickly when depleted. [Regulations](/source/Fishing_rules_and_regulations) may exist to prevent [overexploitation](/source/overexploitation), as in [https://web.archive.org/web/20060925173820/http://www.agfc.state.ar.us/rules_regs/fishing_regs_limits.html#Using Arkansas] and [http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/dfw_baitfish.htm Massachusetts]. Studies by fisheries and conservation agencies monitor the health of bait fish populations, allowing regional governments to set quotas.Mahmoudi, B & McBride, R: FA review of Florida’s halfbeak bait fishery and halfbeak biology, and a preliminary stock assessment [http://research.myfwc.com/images/articles/17405/bally_2002rff_3251.pdf Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025220828/http://research.myfwc.com/images/articles/17405/bally_2002rff_3251.pdf |date=2007-10-25 }}: 2002 ==See also== * {{annotated link|Angling}} * {{annotated link|Pilchard}} ==References== {{reflist}} {{forage fish|state=expanded}} {{fishing rod topics|expanded=none}} {{Angling topics}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Bait Fish}} Category:Fishing equipment Category:Fishing techniques and methods Category:Ichthyology --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bait fish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bait_fish) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bait_fish?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.