Revised fashions point out the necessity to reduce industrial quota by greater than half to rebuild striped bass populations, however ASMFC Menhaden Administration Board vote at present reduces catch restrict by a mere 20 p.c
(DEWEY BEACH, De.)—Regardless of a 2025 inventory evaluation indicating that Atlantic menhaden biomass is one-third decrease than beforehand estimated – and a direct want to chop the coastwide menhaden quota by greater than 50 p.c to assist striped bass rebuilding – the Menhaden Administration Board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Fee voted at present to cut back 2026 industrial catch by solely 20 p.c. The choice, which is able to doubtless forestall striped bass and different predators largely reliant on menhaden like bluefish, weakfish, spiny dogfish, and ospreys from having adequate forage, was a disappointment for conservation and leisure angling organizations.
“Rebuilding the Atlantic striped bass inhabitants has at all times concerned extra than simply regulating striped bass harvest. It’s additionally about guaranteeing that sufficient of their key meals supply, Atlantic menhaden, stays out there within the water,” mentioned Chris Macaluso, director of the Middle for Fisheries for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “The Menhaden Administration Board’s determination to undertake solely a 20 p.c discount in menhaden harvest, regardless of the science and enter from ASMFC’s personal scientists who highlighted the dangers, makes it more difficult to realize striped bass restoration by 2029. This step falls wanting absolutely advancing greater than a decade of progress towards ecosystem-based administration and undermines public belief within the course of.”
The Board’s determination, made on the company’s annual assembly in Delaware, ignores its personal administration framework primarily based on “ecological reference factors” (ERPs) — clear, science-based limits that tie menhaden harvest on to predator well being – and new estimates that present there are 37 p.c fewer menhaden off the Atlantic coast than beforehand estimated. The Board additionally declined to vote for added coastwide menhaden quota reductions past the 2026 fishing season, dodging extra quota cuts for 2027 and 2028 that would have collectively reached an ERP-based discount that the leisure angling group referred to as for after three years. The Board as an alternative favored revisiting the problem in 2026 to find out if extra reductions are wanted.
Notably, three years in the past the Menhaden Administration Board voted to extend the Atlantic menhaden whole allowable catch for the 2023-2025 fishing seasons when the perfect out there science indicated it was warranted. Nonetheless, now that the perfect science signifies a discount in catch is required, the board has declined to cut back the catch to align with the ecosystem-based administration mannequin.
In early October, the ASMFC launched its 2025 Atlantic menhaden inventory evaluation replace, which indicated that the coastwide menhaden biomass is decrease than beforehand estimated and advised that slashing the coastwide catch restrict by greater than half could be mandatory to make sure adequate forage for rebuilding populations of striped bass. The Board’s determination at present just isn’t anticipated to realize the usual 50/50 likelihood of not exceeding the ERP fishing mortality goal – the precautionary method that will dictate risk-tolerant, science-based administration – and as an alternative leads to a one hundred pc probability of exceeding the goal in 2026.
“In the present day, the Menhaden Administration Board selected to desert ecosystem-based administration and can be leaving much less menhaden within the water to gasoline our coastal ecosystems and sportfishing economies,” mentioned Ted Venker, conservation director for the Coastal Conservation Affiliation.
Not like conventional single-species fashions that solely measure the well being of 1 species like menhaden, ERPs explicitly weigh the tradeoffs between menhaden harvest and results on predator populations — on this case, most notably striped bass, also called rockfish.
TRCP and companions efficiently advocated for ERPs to be thought-about in menhaden administration beginning in 2020. The expectation of all concerned within the course of was that this system would drive future administration selections, though following ERPs just isn’t mandated for the ASMFC.
“We’ll proceed working with the ASMFC, anglers, and conservationists to make sure that menhaden harvest reductions transcend 20 p.c and align with the ecosystem’s wants and the board’s said commitments,” Macaluso mentioned.
The Menhaden Administration Board additionally voted at present to provoke an addendum to particularly tackle Chesapeake Bay Administration, which is able to develop choices for quota durations which distribute menhaden removals extra evenly all through the fishing season, in addition to choices to cut back the Chesapeake Bay Discount Fishing Cap starting from established order to a 50 p.c lower. This course of may yield important advantages to the Bay ecosystem, which has confronted a number of considerations lately, together with osprey breeding failures resulting from chick hunger in lots of components of the Bay.
Extra details about the broad significance of Atlantic menhaden is out there on TRCP’s Forage Fish Restoration Web page.
Based in 2002, the TRCP is the biggest coalition of conservation organizations within the nation, uniting and amplifying the voices of sportsmen and ladies by convening searching and fishing teams, conservation organizations, and out of doors companies to a typical goal.
