A fisheries commission has stepped in to try to rebuild the population of a heavily harvested East Coast fish whose connections to American history run deep.
Called menhaden, the fish — part of the herring family — is today mostly used as fertilizer, feed for animals and farmed-fish and bait. Its place in American history goes back to the Pilgrims. Menhaden were the fish that Native Americans taught the Pilgrims to plant with corn as fertilizer. New England tribes in the pre-Colonial era called the menhaden munnawhatteaug, or “fertilizer.”
As the most heavily harvested fish, in terms of pounds, on the East Coast, its numbers have dropped to about 10% of its Colonial-era population.
So on Wednesday, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted 14-3 to reduce the amount of menhaden that may be caught by about 25% compared with the previous year’s catch. That should mean on average 60,000 metric tons “more fish in the water to help the population begin to rebuild,” says John Crawford of the Pew Environment Group’s Northeast Fisheries Program.
The commission’s decision was complicated, based on the estimated percentage of spawning-aged fish , says Ben Landry, director of public affairs for Omega Protein Corp. The Houston-based company catches 75%-80% of menhaden, which it turns into fish meal and fish oil at its Reedville, Va., plant.
Omega is willing to accept the cuts, Landry says, though the company disputes that menhaden are overfished.
The catch reduction is set to take effect in 2013, but the commission has the option of phasing it in. The number of pounds that may be taken will be calculated in May.
Environmental, sports fishing and conservation groups had recommended a cut of 38% but were happy with the outcome. The short-term cuts should increase “the amount of fish we’ll be able to harvest over time,” Crawford says.
Read the full article from USA Today.
Analysis: The article makes several misleading claims about the health of the fishery. It refers to menhaden as at "about 10% of its Colonial-era population." This figure refers to the Maximum Spawning Potential (MSP) which is an estimate of a theoretical unfished population, and not a historical measurement. Menhaden are currently fished to around 10 percent of MSP, but that alone is not an indication of overfishing; MSP has historically rarely risen above 10 percent, with the population previously able to rebuild itself at that level. Over the past several decades, there has been little correlation between MSP levels and menhaden recruitment. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has also concluded in its last assessment that menhaden were not overfished.