Evaluating the role of large jellyfish and forage fishes as energy pathways, and their interplay with fisheries, in the Northern Humboldt Current System

•Jellyfish are much less efficient at transferring energy than forage fish.•Forage fish are energy conduits, while jellyfish are production-loss pathways.•Scenarios reveal inverse relationships between jellyfish and forage fish production.•Removal of forage fish through fisheries lead to increases in jellyfish production.•Jellyfish should be included in ecosystem-based approaches to fishery management.