December 14, 2012 — East Coast fisheries regulators decided Friday to cut the commercial harvest of Atlantic menhaden by 20 percent, seeking to balance saving an ecologically important fish with limiting the economic pain the cut would inflict an the fishing industry.
The vote by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which oversees nearshore fishing, was overwhelming, with only representatives of three states opposing – Virginia, New Jersey and Florida.
Though hoping for a larger cut, conservationists hailed the body's decision to impose the first ever coastwide catch quota on the little oily fish that is caught for processing into animal food and health food supplements or for use as bait to catch blue crabs, lobsters and other fish.
The fish, the most heavily caught of any on the East Coast, also happens to be a main food source for many other fish and birds, including striped bass and ospreys.
The commission's action came two years after its scientific advisers reported the coastal menhaden stock had declined to 8 percent of historic levels from overfishing.
The commission cast its vote in an East Baltimore hotel ballroom packed with recreational anglers pushing for bigger cuts and commercial fishermen with the Virginia-based menhaden fleet who stand to lose income and jobs in some cases.
Read the full story at the Baltimore Sun