Menhaden, also known as
mossbunker, and
bunker, are
forage fish of the genera
Brevoortia and
Ethmidium, two genera of marine
fish in the family
Clupeidae.
Menhaden is a blend of
poghaden (
pogy for short) and an
Algonquian word akin to
Narragansett munnawhatteaûg, derived from
munnohquohteau ‘he fertilizes’, referring to the fish's use as
fertilizer. It is generally thought that
Pilgrims were advised by Tisquantum (also known as
Squanto) to plant menhaden with their crops.