April 27, 2012 – on April, 18, 2012 the American University Center for Environmental Filmmaking production of The Most Important Fish in the Bay was broadcast on Maryland Public Television. The film examamines the economic and ecological role the fish plays in the Chesapeake Bay. It interviews many different industry stakeholders, including commercial and recreational watermen and environmental advocates.
Watch the film here.
Analysis: American University’s Center for Environmental Filmmaking provides a thorough, well-made, and well-balanced examination of the menhaden fishery in the Chesapeake Bay and the potential impact on the community that proposed fishing regulations would entail. The documentary interviews a variety of sources, from members of the menhaden industry to environmental activists, and gives equal time and consideration to the economic and environmental issues surrounding the menhaden fishery. While the documentary itself is fair and well-balanced, two of the interview subjects, author H. Bruce Franklin and the Director of the Chesapeake Bay’s Fisheries Program Bill Goldsborough, make several incorrect assertions about menhaden.
In the film, the English professor and author, H. Bruce Franklin states, “Menhaden are almost like a giant vacuum cleaner. Sucking from the entire Bay all kinds of excess phytoplankton, each individual menhaden filter four gallons of water a minute, so menhaden play a huge role, by just clarifying the water.” However, there are several scientific studies, including a recent 2010 study from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, that have found that menhaden have a negligible impact on phytoplankton. These studies found that adult menhaden, rather than vacuuming up phytoplankton as Franklin claims, mostly consume zooplankton. Juvenile menhaden do have the ability to filter phytoplankton, but their efforts do not lead to a significant improvement in water quality.
Bill Goldsborough of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, when discussing menhaden, says, “they are at their lowest point on record. And that’s an over 50 year-long record. They are down to less than 10 percent of what they once were.” Franklin makes a similar claim.
While this statistic is often cited as a reason for sharp reductions in the commercial menhaden harvest, other factors likely play a greater role. Menhaden spawning is much more influenced by environmental factors than by the amount of fish removed by commercial fishing. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) noted in its 2010 stock assessment that it was likely that the changes in the menhaden population “are almost entirely driven by non-fishery sources” (pg. 91). The ASMFC also concluded that the stock was currently not overfished. This means that the fecundity rate (the estimation of reproductive potential based on number of eggs) has been maintained at a high enough level to ensure sustainability. The lower population levels of menhaden are thus likely not to be the result of lack of available spawners, but of the poor water conditions in the Chesapeake Bay or other environmental factors.