Smelt, used to catch them in seining nets and fill 5 gallon buckets, spend hours cleaning them and drinking beer, preping for deep frying fish fries. Of course this was in Wisconsin.
Alewives?
Personally I think this is more about the 70's argument about flushing the pollution out of the SF bay. I think the smelt argument is just a means to fulfill that liberal dream. After all those liberals deserve a clean bay, right?
(but we do get all the SF smog as it flows down the valley, then the Air pollution people blame us for it as it pools at the valley end.)
We eat smelt guts, feathers and all here in Humbug county...