October 27, 2026 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:
“The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition is delighted to see the America First Seafood Strategy. This approach is long overdue and has the potential to spur greater investment, job creation and economic growth in fishing communities along the Atlantic seaboard and the Gulf of America.
“For too long, excessive and unnecessary regulation has been one of the greatest threats to America’s commercial fisheries. We strongly agree with the strategy that federal policy should focus on ‘maximizing sustainable harvest opportunities’ and ‘ensuring catch limits reflect the best available and most current science.’ Just as importantly, the strategy recognizes that ‘commercial fishermen are not the enemy of conservation’ and that federal policy must support sustainable production while allowing American fishermen to remain economically viable.
“Replacing overregulation with proper regulation—based on sound science and grounded in the National Standards of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act—will strengthen not only the menhaden fishery, but American fisheries and fishing communities across the country.
“The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition represents Lund’s Fisheries, Ocean Harvesters, Omega Protein, Daybrook Fisheries and Westbank Fishing.”