The Tiny Fish Holding the Ocean Together Are at Risk

Small fish like sardines, anchovies, herring, and capelin may not get much attention, but they quietly power entire ocean ecosystems. In this episode of How to Protect the Ocean, we explore why forage fish are some of the most important species in the sea and how climate change could disrupt the food web in ways scientists are only beginning to understand.

As oceans warm and ecosystems shift, the abundance and location of these small fish are changing. That matters because whales, salmon, tuna, seabirds, cod, and countless marine predators depend on them for survival. If forage fish decline, the impacts could ripple through fisheries, coastal communities, and ocean biodiversity worldwide.

This episode explains why these overlooked species matter more than most people realize, what scientists are seeing in the data, and why protecting the smallest fish in the ocean may be one of the biggest conservation priorities of the future.