March 7, 2013 — The following is an excerpt from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Winter 2013 "Bay Bound" newsletter.
In a great victory for conservation interests and most importantly, the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, legislation that will bring Virginia into compliance with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's revised Interstate Fishery Management Plan is swiftly moving through the state's General Assembly.
Menhaden are a major food source for marine mammals, birds, and other fish, including striped bass and bluefish. With more than 85 percent of the total Atlantic coastwide catch being landed in Virginia, menhaden are also an important component to Virginia's commercial fishing industry. Such large landings make menhaden vital to Virginia's economy, providing the basis for a commercial "reduction" fishery in Reedville, Virginia, where the fish are processed into oil and meal, and supplying numerous bait fisheries throughout the state.
Unfortunately, stocks of menhaden along the Atlantic coast have plummeted to their lowest levels on record. Data from the Commission show that menhaden are experiencing overfishing and have been for at least 32 of the past 54 years and will likely be considered overfished due to the new population reference that the Commission has adopted to better manage the species. To counter the declining numbers, the revised management plan includes a reduction in the coast-wide menhaden catch by 20 percent as well as an equal reduction in the current Chesapeake Bay Harvest Cap on the reduction fishery. These actions represent a great start towards restoring a forage fish that is vital to the Bay's ecosystem and Virginia's economy.
Read the full story at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Analysis: The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), in an article on on menhaden legislation adopted by the Virginia General Assembly in its Winter 2013 Bay Bound newsletter (“Virginia Menhaden Legislation Moves Forward”), misstated several crucial facts regarding the menhaden fishery.
CBF writes that “menhaden are experiencing overfishing and have been for at least 32 of the last 54 years.” This is, at best, a misleading statistic. While the 2010 menhaden assessment (which includes data from up to 2008) did conclude that menhaden were experiencing overfishing, the vast majority of these years are not reflective of the fishery’s recent history. In the 15 years between 1993 and 2008, overfishing occurred only twice. Because menhaden is a comparatively short-lived species (living from 10-12 years), and produces large classes of new menhaden each year, the most recent data are much more relevant in determining the health of the species than older, dated statistics.
CBF also jumped the gun by alleging that menhaden “will likely be considered overfished due to the new population reference that the Commission has adopted to better manage the species.” The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) concluded in February that there is insufficient information to designate the species as overfished. According to the 2010 assessment, which is the last menhaden assessment considered to be reliable, the species was not overfished.
Finally, CBF contends that menhaden “have plummeted to their lowest levels on record.” But to place this blame solely, or even primarily, on present fishing operations ignores the history of fishery. Throughout the 50-plus years for which data on menhaden biomass has been recorded by the ASMFC, biomass has fluctuated based on the strength of menhaden recruitment (the number of menhaden that are born). Current biomass figures are similar to levels seen in the late 1960s, when biomass was lower. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, several years saw especially strong recruitment, which were followed by years of high biomass. These statistically documented trends demonstrate that the recent decline observed in the menhaden population is part of an alternating cycle of strong and weak recruitment.
The Providence Journal, in an analysis that found a similar claim by the Pew Environment Group of a 90 percent drop in menhaden abundance to be “mostly false,” presented an in-depth discussion on the fluctuations over the past half-century.
Historically, the number of menhaden caught by the fishery has not been demonstrated to influence the number of menhaden that spawn. Rather, environmental factors appear to be the most influential factor. This conclusion was reached by the ASMFC in its 2010 stock assessment, which specified that menhaden population changes “are almost entirely driven by non-fishery sources.” Similarly, NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Office concludes in its web page on menhaden, “environmental factors may be the defining factor in the production of good year classes [of menhaden].”