Finally the federal government is stepping in to protect one of the East Coast's most important fisheries, that of the Atlantic menhaden.
Most anglers in the New York area refer to this oily fish as bunker and it is not only widely used as bait, but it is an important bait fish, the source of food for many species, including striped bass, along the coast.
Their numbers have dwindled considerably over the past 10 years because of the fish being used for a number of products — from dietary use to pet food.
The commercial operation is Omega Protein, based in Houston, and operates a reducing plant in Reedville, Va., which is also the base for its fleet of 10 ships and eight spotter planes. Menhaden, travelling in huge schools, are located by the planes, and then a pair of netting ships deploys purse nets that capture as much as 50,000 pounds at a time to be transferred into factory ships.
Last year, according to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), Omega Protein's Reedville fleet took an estimated 200,000 tons of menhaden, 80 percent of the catch along the Atlantic, operating largely in Virginia-controlled portions of Chesapeake Bay up to three miles offshore and limited portions of North Carolina. The other 20 percent was harvested for bait, primarily by fishermen from Maryland to Massachusetts.
"We have seen the stock drop precipitously. This has had a dramatic impact not only on the menhaden but on all the species that depend on menhaden as a forage species," said Tom Fote of the New Jersey Coast Anglers. "For the Atlantic Coast, menhaden is one of the most important species in the ocean.
"We all know when menhaden are abundant. Striped bass, bluefish, weakfish, tuna and others are caught around the menhaden schools. When the menhaden disappear from an area, all the species we target disappear with them."
Read the full article at the New York Post.
Analysis: While the article asserts that "their [menhaden's] numbers have dwindled in the past 10 years" and that "[commercial harvesters] have had free reign with no restriction on this stock for years," these statements are not reflected in the data gathered from the fishery. The most recent assessment of the fishery, produced by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), concluded that the stock was not overfished, and that overfishing had occured only once in 2008 on a marginal level. There is no indication in the last stock assesment that the population is at risk or that there is a consistent pattern of overfishing.