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Debra Parthree, a marine scientist with the Virginia Institute for Marine Science, has a job that takes guts. She studies the stomach contents of fish to find out what they eat and what might be happening with the wildlife in the food chain of the Chesapeake Bay. In particular, she's looking for menhaden, an oily fish who's numbers are getting more attention lately.
Menhaden - an oily fish used in nutritional supplements, fertilizer, chicken feed and makeup - faces severe population pressure, as this fishery has largely remained unregulated by the Virginia office of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the state agency that manages it. Menhaden has so far been little studied, but new stock assessments that show the fish hovering around critical population sustainability levels are drawing more attention to the fish. (Photo/Morgan Heim)