Tag Archives: Atlantic Menhaden
Menhaden Harvest Increase Approved as Anglers Petition to Close Bay Fishery
East Coast fishery managers have approved increasing commercial harvests of Atlantic menhaden from Maine to Florida. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), which regulates near-shore harvests of migratory fish, voted Wednesday to set a new ceiling on the coastwide menhaden catch of 233,550 metric tons, a 20 percent increase over the current quota. The longstanding cap on harvest in the Chesapeake Bay remains unchanged, at 51,000 metric tons. But conservationists and sports anglers continue to worry about the impact to the Bay from large-scale fishing of menhaden near its mouth. >click to read< 13:54
Bill introduced to ban controversial fishing method in Virginia
A bill has been introduced for the next session of the Virginia General Assembly to place a two year moratorium on Atlantic menhaden reduction fishing in Virginia’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay. State Delegate Tim Anderson is sponsoring the bill. Menhaden are a baitfish that serve as forage for a wide number of larger and sportfish species. The method of fishing has been criticized by sportfishing and conservation groups. Omega Protein operates a fishing fleet that targets menhaden. Critics say menhaden numbers have been driven down in the Chesapeake because of it, and that sportfish numbers have dropped as a result. Video, >click to read< -09:37
Atlantic menhaden not overharvested, fisheries commission concludes
An updated menhaden population assessment that takes into account the ecological role of the species as a popular food for other fish deems the coastwide stock to be in good shape. The latest assessment, presented to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Aug. 3, incorporates data collected through last year. It concluded that “overfishing is not occurring, and the stock is not considered overfished.” But even with the new methodology, the latest assessment concluded the overall stock was healthy, a finding immediately touted by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition, a group representing commercial harvesters. >click to read< 10:26
Virginia faces a threatened shutdown of its large commercial fishery for Atlantic menhaden.
Virginia faces a threatened shutdown of its large commercial fishery for Atlantic menhaden after federal officials found the state had allowed too many of the commercially and ecologically important fish to be taken from the Chesapeake Bay. In a letter released Thursday, the head of the Commerce Department agency that regulates federally managed fisheries declared Virginia out of compliance with an interstate management plan for menhaden. >click to read< 09:12
Omega Protein Statement on Menhaden Fishery Moratorium
Omega Protein is disappointed in today’s decision by the Secretary of Commerce to impose a moratorium on Virginia’s menhaden fishery. This is the first time that a moratorium has been placed on a fishery that is not overfished and is healthy by every measure. The ruling is the result of a requested federal non-compliance review from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC),,, >click to read< 15:52
Fight Against Atlantic Menhaden Certification Moves to Next Round
The objections raised by sportfishing groups in opposition to certification of the industrial Atlantic menhaden fishery as a “sustainable fishery” are scheduled to be heard by an independent adjudicator on July 8 and 9. In March, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP), Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) and American Sportfishing Association (ASA) filed an objection—which was later combined with a similar objection raised by The Nature Conservancy and Chesapeake Bay Foundation—to the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) recommendation that Omega Protein should receive a certification of sustainability for its U.S. Atlantic menhaden purse-seining operations. >click to read<13:53
Atlantic Menhaden Management Board Meeting November 13, 2017 1:00 pm to consider approval of Amendment 3
The Board will meet to consider approval of Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden. The Commission’s Business Session will meet immediately following the conclusion of the Atlantic Menhaden Board to consider final approval of Amendment 3. In total, there are 3 sets of meeting materials: main meeting materials, supplemental materials and supplemental materials # 2. The main meeting materials, which can be reviewed pdf click here include the Draft Agenda, Draft Board Proceedings from August 2017, and the Technical Committee Memo on Stock Projections for the Interim Reference Point Options in Draft Amendment 3 (please note this has been revised in Supplemental Materials #2). click here for info and webinar link 20:00
The real reason why you’re suddenly seeing whales in N.J. and N.Y. waters
Whales. They’ve been seemingly everywhere. Breaching just past the sandbars in Asbury Park. Swimming past groups of surfers in Rockaway Beach. Besides inspiring a chorus of oohs and aahs, the increase in sightings is adding a blubbery new wrinkle to a raging debate over a far smaller fish: the Atlantic menhaden. It’s the menhaden, also known as “bunker” — clumsy, multidinous, slow swimming virtual floating hamburgers — that those whales are chasing. But the story of why Atlantic menhaden is suddenly so plentiful is a complicated — and controversial — one, pitting environmentalists and anglers against commercial fishing operations, with both sides claiming science is on their side. Read the story here 12:33
Connecticut DEEP investigating large-scale fish kills of Atlantic Menhaden and other species
Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is investigating multiple natural fish kills affecting thousands of Atlantic menhaden in the past week, including in the Quinnipiac River, Clinton Harbor and the lower Connecticut River, according to a press release from the DEEP. Menhaden have also died off in the Thames River between Norwich and the U.S. Naval Submarine Base in Groton, the DEEP said. Small numbers of fish kills of other species have been reported in these areas as well, the release said. Read the rest here 14:37
Coast-wide sightings of large schools of Atlantic menhaden support 2014 stock assessment methods, findings
April 1, 2015 (Menhaden Fisheries Coalition) — A new report compiled by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition reaffirms the positive results of the 2014 Atlantic Menhaden Benchmark Stock Assessment. The report compares the latest stock assessment’s findings to numerous reported sightings of large schools of the species along the Atlantic coast. The Coalition’s conclusions reveal a compelling consensus among scientific experts, fishermen, and journalists that the species is healthy, wide-ranging, and sustainably managed. Read the rest here 08:25
New menhaden study renews debate on catch limits
A little more than two years after authorities clamped down on harvests of Atlantic menhaden, prompting protests from Maryland watermen and other commercial fishermen, a new analysis by scientists finds they are in better shape — better, in fact, than believed when the catch was cut back. But conservationists and anglers disagree. Peter Baker, Northeast fisheries director for the Pew Charitable Trusts,,, Read the rest here 15:03
New Atlantic menhaden assessment to be reviewed at upcoming management meeting, reveals healthy stock and sustainable fishery
This week at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Winter Meeting in Alexandria, Va., the Menhaden Management Board will consider the just-released 2014 Atlantic Menhaden Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report for management use. The assessment’s revised models and data sources are substantially improved from previous assessments and indicate that fishery-independent causes, including environmental conditions, have the greatest impact on the otherwise healthy stock and sustainable fishery. Read the rest here 09:40
Report: Atlantic menhaden are in better shape than regulators thought
Environmentalists and commercial fishermen have clashed for years over Atlantic menhaden and whether there are still plenty of the little fish left in the sea. Now a draft of a that incorporates more comprehensive data from coastal states stretching back to the 1950s, as well as alternative model scenarios, appears to indicate menhaden might not be in such bad shape after all. Read the rest here 08:00
Dogfish Don’t Eat As Much As You Think They Do
First off, why do we care how much a spiny dogfish, or any fish for that matter, is eating? Aside from the fact that predator-prey interactions are interesting, the populations of the fish that we eat don’t exist in a vacuum with us as the only predators. Read more here 19:32
Pew/NatGeo Column Oversimplifies Ecosystem-Based Management of “Forage Fish”
WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) May 7, 2014 — In a recent article, “The ABCs of Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management-Part II,” the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Director of Federal Fisheries Policy and National Geographic online guest writer, Lee Crockett, focuses on the management of “forage fish” — a much used, though highly debated categorization for a number of small, marine species. The article’s title suggests,,, Read more here 14:13
Study looks at balancing fishing for and preserving menhaden – Population at lowest point in 50 years? hmm
Fisheries scientists are conducting a study on Atlantic menhaden that will help identify the balance between harvesting and preserving the species. Atlantic menhaden, described as “small, oily fish” that migrate along the East Coast, are the “favorite menu item of prized rockfish,” and have a high commercial value, according to a statement the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. Currently, the menhaden population is at its lowest point in more than 50 years due to harvesting and predation, the statement says. But fisheries scientists from UMCES are investigating the balance between fishing for Atlantic menhaden and the value the fish has in the ecosystem, thanks to a grant from the Lenfest Ocean Program. The Lenfest Ocean Program “funds scientific research on policy-relevant topics concerning the world’s oceans and communicates the results of the supported research to decision makers and other interested audiences,” according to its website. Read More
Rhode Island PolitiFact Meter Shows The Pew Environment Group “Facts” are MOSTLY FALSE!
“In recent years, menhaden numbers along our coast have plummeted by 90 percent.”
Pew Environment Group on Tuesday, December 11th, 2012 in a newspaper advertisement
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is scheduled to vote today, Dec. 14, on whether to cut the catch limit for Atlantic menhaden.
Environmentalists say the menhaden population, a crucial part of the Atlantic ecosystem, has dropped to dangerous levels. Menhaden are an important food source for tuna, cod, striped bass, whales, dolphins, ospreys and eagles.
“Governor Chafee: When this little fish disappears we’re in big trouble.”
Our ruling
The Pew Environment Group said that “in recent years, menhaden numbers along our coasts have plummeted by 90 percent,” a very specific number. It says overfishing must be halted to rebuild the population.
The estimated number of menhaden is clearly well below the estimated population for the late 1980s. But it’s currently at levels seen in the 1960s.
If you want to claim a 90-percent drop, you have to compare the 2008 population to a very specific — and very exceptional — year, 1982.
We don’t consider a 30-year-old benchmark to be “recent.”
Because the statement contains some element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression, we rate it Mostly False.
http://www.politifact.com/rhode-island/statements/2012/dec/14/pew-environment-group/pew-environment-group-says-atlantic-menhaden-popul/ About PolitiFact Rhode Island
Pew Environment continues biased menhaden campaign with latest video – UPDATED More Menhaden News
Union, NAACP Oppose Job-Killing Cuts to Menhaden Fishery
Statement of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 400 and the Maryland State Conference NAACP on Menhaden Fisheries Management
Congressmen Sarbanes & Carney ask colleagues to back severe menhaden cuts
States Schedule Hearings on Atlantic Menhaden Draft Amendment 2 – The dates, times, locations, and analysis provided by savingseafood.org
The Draft Amendment presents a suite of options to manage and monitor the stock in both the short and long-term. These include options to end overfishing; change the biomass reference points to match the fishing mortality reference points; and establish,,,,,,,,,,read more
The Draft Amendment responds to the findings of both the 2010 benchmark stock assessment and the 2012 stock assessment update that indicate the stock is experiencing overfishing but may or may not be overfished depending on,,,,,Read more
