Saving Seafood

States Schedule Public Hearings on Atlantic Menhaden Draft Addendum II

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

August 27, 2026 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic coastal states of Maine through Virginia have scheduled hearings to gather public input on Draft Addendum II to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden. The Draft Addendum considers options to reduce the Chesapeake Bay Reduction Fishery Cap (Bay Cap) by up to 50% and distribute the cap more evenly throughout the fishing season. The options aim to alleviate a concentration of effort that may be affecting other fisheries within the Bay and other potential ecological impacts.

 The Board initiated the Draft Addendum in response to concerns regarding declining pound net harvest and catch per unit effort in the Bay in recent years, coinciding with an increase in the concentration of reduction harvest in the summer months, and the possible downstream effects on menhaden predators.
The Draft Addendum also includes options that link the Bay Cap to the coastwide total allowable catch to maintain a more fixed proportion between the two, as well as options to distribute the Bay Cap into three quota periods to prevent a concentration of reduction harvest in the spring and summer of the fishing season.
 Some hearings will be conducted in-person, some will be hybrid, and others will be conducted via webinar. If you are unable to participate in your state’s scheduled hearing, you are welcome to participate in any of the virtual or hybrid hearings. The public hearing details follow. Please note that the hearing location for the MD/PRFC hearing has not been set. The Commission will issue another press release once the hearing details have been confirmed.
Webinar Instructions

For all virtual and hybrid hearings, please click HERE and select the hearing(s) you plan to attend from the dropdown menu to register for a public hearing webinar. Hearings will be held via GoToWebinar, and you can join the webinar from your computer, tablet or smartphone. Please note that in order to comment during virtual webinar hearings you will need to use your computer or download the GoToWebinar app for your phone. If you are new to GoToWebinar, you can download the software by (clicking here) or via the App store under GoToWebinar. We recommend you register for the hearing well in advance of the hearing since GoToWebinar will provide you with a link to test your device’s compatibility with the webinar. If you find your device is not compatible, please contact the Commission at info@asmfc.org (subject line: GoToWebinar help) and we will try to get you connected. We also strongly encourage participants to use the computer voice over internet protocol (VoIP) so you can ask questions and provide input at the hearing. If you are unable to participate in your state’s scheduled hearing, you are welcome to participate in any of the virtual or hybrid hearings.

 Hearing Presentation Recording

For those who cannot attend any in-person or virtual hearings, the Commission will also post a recording of the hearing presentation on the Commission’s YouTube page so that stakeholders may watch the presentation and submit comment at any time during the comment process. This recording will be available by early September.

Submitting Comments

The public is encouraged to submit comments at any time during the public comment period but no later than 11:59 PM (EST) on October 9, 2026. You can access the Draft Addendum, public hearing schedule, and ways to comment on the Atlantic Menhaden Draft Addendum II Action Tracker .

We accept public comment in several forms (at public hearings, an online public comment form, an online public comment survey, and via mail or email) and all forms are equally valued. However, we strongly encourage the use of the public comment survey as it allows users to select specific preferred options in the Draft Addendum and provides space for open-ended comments at the end.

  1. The public comment survey, which was developed to facilitate the gathering of input on the Draft Addendum’s specific options
  2. Written comments via Atlantic Menhaden Action Tracker or comments@asmfc.org
  3. Written comments submitted via snail mail to James Boyle, FMP Coordinator, at 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, Virginia 22201
  4. Verbal comments provided at any of the scheduled public hearings

If your organization is planning to release an action alert in response to the Draft Addendum, please contact James Boyle at jboyle@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740, so he can work with you to develop a unique subject line to enable us to better organize and summarize incoming comments for Board review. For more information, please contact James Boyle, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at jboyle@asmfc.org.