The forage fish are also important to keeping the water clear. Menhaden are filter feeders that eat up a lot of bacteria. When ocean floors get wiped out from trawlers they have no vegetation left to eat so they move to deeper waters. No inshore vegetation and no inshore baitfish are contributing to the inshore dead zones that continue to grow along our coastlines. Fix the baitfish issues and you'll see an improvement inshore all along our coastlines both in better fish and a healthier ecosystem