Action alert: protect menhaden (bunker) from overfishing

[Miles]

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council is asking for public comments on their plan to regulate the menhaden fishery. Anyone interested in fishing the Bay or even for stripers in the Potomac should get involved in this process.

Most of us recognize that menhaden are an important food for the fish we target, especially stripers, bluefish, and mackerel. They are not considered table fish, but they are harvested and used in pet food, aquaculture, and fish oil supplements. Unfortunately, menhaden have been overharvested, and their stocks are at the lowest levels in decades. This means predator fish like striped bass and bluefish have fewer fish to eat. More on menhaden here: http://chesapeakebay.noaa.gov/fish-facts/menhaden

Having recognized the problem, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is looking at changes in how they manage and limit the menhaden harvest. You can read their full document here: http://asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/AtlMenhadenAmend3PID_PublicComment.pdf

Keep America Fishing, an advocacy organization, says that the main goals of the new plan should be a) to reduce the harvest by keeping 75% of the menhaden population in the water, b) to include menhaden as bycatch in the total harvest count, and c) to protect the Chesapeake - the main breeding site for menhaden - with a sharply reduced cap on harvest there. KAF has a handy lobby-bot that you can use to send the ASMFC: https://keepamericafishing.org/action-center/?v=7516fd43adaa

For those of us who live in Virginia, there will be an important second step: lobbying our legislators to accept the new reductions. In Virginia, the menhaden fishery is regulated by the General Assembly, who in the past have sometimes resisted ASMFC rules. The biggest harvester of menhaden in the Chesapeake, Omega Proteins, has a facility in Reedville, VA, where their catch is 'reduced' into fish oil for pet food and supplements. More on VA here: http://www.virginiaplaces.org/natural/menhaden.html

I know this is a lot of info, but please at least check out the KAF site, and let the ASMFC know that you care about the Bay and its fish.

thanks,
Miles

[Andrew Chaney]

Thanks for the information! My wife's family usually spends a week on the beach in southern NJ every summer. One year, I saw a massive school of menhaden just beyond the breakers. When I say massive, I mean nearly 100 yards long and probably tens of thousands of fish. There was a feeding frenzy around it. Birds were diving into the water left and right. An osprey flew right over us and freaked out a couple of kids making sand castles when it dropped its catch nearby, still flopping like crazy.

I chatted up some surf fisherman going after possible game fish around the edges of the school and they said that it had been years since they had seen a school of menhaden even close to the size of this one. It was a very cool experience and I hope the advocacy to tighten the regulations on their harvest is successful.

[Charlie Church]

Thanks for posting this Miles. This is a big deal and directly impacts the local fisheries. One thing to note is that an extreme amount of the total allocated catch for menhaden comes out of the Bay (I think it's like 90%). 

Another interesting thing to note is that Omega and Virginia Beach did come to a "Gentleman's Agreement" to not fish for menhaden off the waters of the ocean front. The menhaden have been absolutely loaded on the oceanfront this year because of it. I'm talking acre big schools. It sure would be nice if the whole bay looked like that. I'm sure the rockfish wouldn't mind either.

Here is another good article to read and also includes a templated email to send out at the bottom. 

http://www.chesapeakelighttackle.com/2016/12/06/something-we-all-agree-on-a-call-to-action/