August 3, 2017 — PORTLAND, Maine — One of the most important little fish in the sea is in good shape.
That’s the analysis of the regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which reviewed the Atlantic menhaden population and found it remains healthy. The commission says the fish is not experiencing overfishing.
Atlantic menhaden are harvested by fishermen for use as bait and to make fish oil.
Atlantic fisheries managers will take positive findings into consideration for management purposes
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – August 2, 2017 – The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:
Today, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) was presented with an updated stock assessment that shows Atlantic menhaden is neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing. These positive conclusions mirror the results of the ASMFC’s 2015 benchmark assessment of Atlantic menhaden, which showed a healthy and sustainable stock.
The 2017 Atlantic Menhaden Stock Assessment Update, prepared by the ASMFC’s Atlantic Menhaden Stock Assessment Subcommittee using data through the 2016 fishing year, shows that fishing mortality remains well below the ASMFC’s target levels (see Table 7.2.1.1 below). The assessment further indicates that the target has not been exceeded for many years; this includes 2012, when the ASMFC cut Atlantic menhaden catch rates by 20 percent based on a flawed stock assessment.
“We’ve maintained for years that Atlantic menhaden is being managed sustainably, and today’s update assessment continues to prove our case,” said Peter Himchak, Senior Fisheries Scientist at Omega Protein, a member of the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition. “Coalition members who make their living in the menhaden fishery have worked diligently to safeguard this resource, and today’s findings validate their hard work.”
The Assessment Update approved today also shows an increase in Atlantic menhaden biomass and numbers of individual fish (see Figure 6.2.3.4 below). Taken in combination, positive trends for both biomass and numbers of individual menhaden are strong indications of a healthy menhaden stock.
In 2012, the ASMFC slashed Atlantic menhaden catch rates after a flawed stock assessment indicated menhaden was being overfished. However, a 2015 assessment using improved methods and better science showed that menhaden had not been overfished in 2012 or at any time since the 1960s, and that the stock was healthy. Based on these positive results, the ASMFC raised the catch quota for Atlantic menhaden in both 2015 and 2016, but catch rates remain below 2012 levels when quota reductions were implemented.
“This update assessment further confirms our view that the 2012 harvest cuts were unwarranted and not based on sound science,” said Jeff Kaelin, Government Relations Coordinator at Lund’s Fisheries, another Coalition member. “In large part due to those cuts, we are underfishing this resource and unnecessarily hurting the fishermen who depend on it. The ASMFC’s menhaden board has options before it that could restore the fishery to pre-2012 levels, and we ask that they give those options the consideration they deserve.”
About the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition
The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition is a collective of menhaden fishermen, related businesses, and supporting industries. Comprised of businesses along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, the Coalition conducts media and public outreach on behalf of the menhaden industry to ensure that members of the public, media, and government are informed of important issues, events, and facts about the fishery.
Findings by ASMFC BERP Workgroup align with recent forage fish research by Hilborn et al.
WASHINGTON – July 31, 2017 – The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition. Saving Seafood previously covered Hilborn et al., which found that previous forage fish research may have overestimated the impact of forage fishing on their predators. Saving Seafood also produced a video about the study, which can be found here:
Earlier this year, a team of scientists led by Dr. Ray Hilborn found, among other conclusions, that forage fish are best managed on a case-by-case basis that accounts for their unique environmental roles. In a memo earlier this month, an inter-state scientific review committee tasked with incorporating the ecological role of menhaden into management determined that this conclusion aligns with their own findings.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Biological and Ecological Reference Points (BERP) Workgroup, which is leading development of ecosystem-based fisheries management for Atlantic menhaden, reviewed the Hilborn et al. paper earlier this summer. It concluded that the paper’s recommendation of using stock-specific models to evaluate ecosystem needs were similar to models being developed by the workgroup.
“The [workgroup] is currently developing a suite of intermediate complexity menhaden-specific models that align with the general recommendations from both Dr. Hilborn and the 2015 Stock Assessment Peer Review Panel,” said the July 14 memo, Review of Hilborn et al. 2017.[1] “The [workgroup] anticipates that these models will be ready for peer review in 2019.”
The Hilborn et al. study, published in April in Fisheries Research, found that there were several variables in forage fish species that make imprecise, one-size-fits-all management approaches difficult. Most importantly, there seems to be little correlation between the number of predator species in the water and the number of forage fish, making it nearly impossible to determine a catch level that is appropriate for forage fish as a whole. Other variables include the natural variability of forage fish, which is different from species to species, and relative locations of predators and forage species.
“We suggest that any evaluation of harvest policies for forage fish needs to include these issues, and that models tailored for individual species and ecosystems are needed to guide fisheries management policy,” the paper finds.
The ASMFC will consider the work of the BERP, including its review of Dr. Hilborn’s paper, at its upcoming 2017 summer meeting, to be held from August 1-3 in Alexandria, Virginia.
July 24, 2017 — The following is excerpted from an op-ed by Ben Landry, Director of Public Affairs for Omega Protein, and was published Friday by The Providence Journal:
In his July 7 column (“Opinions on changes to menhaden quota are divided”), Capt. Dave Monti makes multiple inaccurate claims about the biology and management of menhaden — claims that someone who advises menhaden regulators at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission should know do not conform to the latest menhaden science.
Mr. Monti mischaracterizes the health of the Atlantic menhaden stock when he says it is “on the rebound, due to the first-ever catch quota put into place in 2012.” As an ASMFC advisor, Mr. Monti should know that the 2012 catch quota was based on a stock assessment, later determined to be faulty, that showed menhaden was being overfished. That later-disproven science led the commission to unnecessarily slash menhaden catch rates by 20 percent, hurting those who make their living in the fishery.
In 2015, following extensive improvements to its menhaden stock assessment model, the ASMFC found that menhaden was not overfished, not experiencing overfishing, and has actually not been overfished in decades. The science doesn’t show the Atlantic menhaden stock to be “on the rebound,” it shows it has had a clean bill of health all along.
Despite these developments, the current quota remains below 2012 levels. This is the result of politics, not science, and makes little sense, as the ASMFC itself found that the previous cuts were unwarranted.
June 28, 2017 — The March Bay Journal 2017 commentary, Don’t let menhaden become a case of could have, should have, would have, laments the decline in Bay menhaden populations and blames the reduced number of predatory “sport” fish on Omega Protein’s harvest.
The Atlantic States Marine fisheries Commission is quite clear this year that “Atlantic menhaden are neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing” (asmfc.org/species/atlantic-menhaden).
In Maryland, juvenile menhaden are sampled annually through the Estuarine Juvenile Finfish Survey. The index of juvenile menhaden has been low since 1992, and “environmental conditions seem to be a major factor driving recruitment.” (dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/Documents/Section_4_Atlantic_Menhaden.pdf).
Something other than overfishing must contribute to, or even be responsible for, reduced Bay menhaden populations. I contend that the primary cause of depleted finfish stocks, including bottom-feeding fish like croaker that do not eat menhaden, and the menhaden themselves, is poor water quality, not overfishing.
As a child in the late 1940s, I recall visiting my uncle’s cottage on the water near Solomons Island, MD, where we caught large bluefish and rockfish. He would give me a quarter to pull up eelgrass from under his boat so the propeller wouldn’t chop it up and foul the engine’s water pump. Dense meadows of grass were obvious beneath the clear water. I doubt there is much eelgrass anywhere near Solomons Island today and Bernie Fowler’s “Wade-In” documents turbidity and the fact that there has been no recent improvement.
I moved to Virginia’s Northern Neck on the Little Wicomico River, near Smith Point, in 1998. At that time, I could exit the jetties and turn to the southeast into about 30 feet of water and easily catch large croaker, as well as spot, trout and flounder. I haven’t caught fish there, nor seen them on the depth sounder, in many years.
The pound nets nearby still catch menhaden for crab bait, although they are smaller than fish in the past. They no longer catch many “food fish.”
In about 2000, big Omega trawlers fishing for menhaden were common up to the Maryland-Virginia line. Now, I never see the trawlers and most of the plentiful menhaden are being caught outside the Bay, where the population is robust. In late summer, schools of Spanish mackerel and bluefish once chased bait on the bar west of Smith Point Light. Casting into the schools, as they were being worked by birds, or trolling beside them, was great fun and very productive. No more.
Spanish mackerel, my favorite fish, are no longer abundant and I rarely see birds actively working the water. Trolling for big rockfish was almost always successful a decade ago. Lately it is more often unsuccessful, although a few are still being caught.
June 26, 2017 — As a massive vacuum truck from Clean Harbors traveled along the shoreline near Simpsons Point midweek to clean up rotting pogies, local fishermen were battling what they say was a raft of misinformation put forth by the state about how and why those pogies were dumped from a local fishing vessel on June 6.
On Tuesday, a day after residents of the Simpsons Point area asked town councilors to help pay for a professional cleanup of the fish, local lobsterman Steve Anderson posted a 10-minute video on YouTube, taking local media to task for only reporting part of the story and excoriating the Maine Department of Marine Resources for a quota system Anderson said simply doesn’t work.
Anderson declined requests to speak to the Bangor Daily News this week.
But Jeff Nichols, spokesman for the DMR, said Friday that Anderson “got a lot of things wrong,” including that DMR imposes the quota system. According to Nichols, while fishermen are still held to a quota,they can transfer their catch to another vessel, to act as a carrier vessel.
Quotas for Atlantic Menhaden, or pogies, are imposed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and implemented by state marine resources regulators. This year’s quota allowed Maine fishermen to catch 161,000 pounds per year, then to reapply to catch more if there is still stock, as there is this year but not every year.
“We hit that [quota] at the end of May, and then we could apply for an ‘episodic event fishery’ quota triggered when there are still fish in the water,” Nichols said.
This year, fishermen were granted additional quotas of 120,000 pounds per day per boat, Nichols said.
HOUSTON — June 15, 2017 — The following was released today by Omega Protein:
Last week, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) announced that the U.S. Atlantic menhaden and U.S. Gulf of Mexico menhaden fisheries have entered the evaluation process in order to acquire the respected blue ecolabel for sustainable fishing. The assessments are being conducted by third-party independent auditors SAI Global at the request of Omega Protein.
Atlantic Menhaden
Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) are small, oily fish that are caught commercially in a fish meal and fish oil fishery and a bait fishery. They appear in estuaries and coastal waters from northern Florida to Nova Scotia. While considered unfit for direct human consumption, menhaden caught via the modern purse seine method are used in fish meal and fish oil for human and animal nutrition, due to their high natural concentration of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Menhaden are also valuable as bait for fishermen targeting other commercially valuable species, such as lobster.
Gulf Menhaden
Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) have a similar biology to Atlantic menhaden and are also caught in both a fish meal and fish oil fishery and a bait fishery. They have a Gulf-wide range, from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, across the western and northern Gulf to eastern Florida. Adults are found in nearshore waters and lower bays, while juveniles are found in fresh and brackish estuaries and rivers.
The Second Largest U.S. Fishery
Between the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, the U.S. menhaden fishery is the second largest in the country by weight, trailing only Alaska pollock. The purse seine fishery is notable for being extremely clean; according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Chesapeake Bay Office, it is “one of the most selective, and effective fisheries,” as evidenced by an insignificant bycatch.
Commercial landings of Atlantic menhaden peaked in the 1950s, while commercial landings of Gulf menhaden peaked in the early 1980s. Harvest levels of menhaden have significantly decreased, essentially tracking fishing effort, since those high points, and the most recent stock assessments of Gulf menhaden and Atlantic menhaden confirm that neither species is undergoing overfishing or being overfished.
Statements from Omega Protein and MSC
“The MSC blue ecolabel is the gold standard for sustainable fishing worldwide. We are extremely proud of the work we’ve done to conduct our fishing operations sustainably, and we’re excited to share this work with the auditors as they undertake this assessment to the MSC Standard,” said Ben Landry, the Director of Public Affairs for Omega Protein. “We are confident that the menhaden fishery will meet the MSC Standard, recognizing its advances in responsible harvesting methods as we continue to pursue the most sustainable fishing practices available.”
“We welcome the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic menhaden purse seine fisheries’ decision to enter MSC assessment,” said Eric Critchlow, MSC U.S. program director. “This is an important milestone for the MSC and for fishing in the United States.”
MSC’s Standard for Sustainable Fishing
The MSC Fisheries Standard is designed to assess the sustainability of fishery practices and management methods. The standards used to evaluate fisheries have been developed in deliberation with scientists, industry, and conservation groups, and reflect the most up-to-date fisheries science and management practices.
The MSC Standard is based on three core principles that every fishery must meet in order to be MSC certified:
The assessment is being carried out by the certification body SAI Global Assurance Services and has an expected completion date of December 2017. The MSC assessment process is open for public input. Those interested in the menhaden fishery can participate by contacting Jean Ragg at Jean.Ragg@saiglobal.com.
May 1, 2017 — In his recent Bay Journal op-ed, Don’t let menhaden become a case of could have, should have, would have, March 2017, Bill Bartlett claims that menhaden are both scarce and unregulated in the Chesapeake Bay.
Neither assertion is true according to the latest and best science on menhaden. This data instead indicate that this species is being managed sustainably and responsibly.
The late U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously stated that everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. Because a column appears in the op-ed section does not excuse it from journalistic obligations of fact-checking and accuracy. Let’s look at the facts along with supporting citations.
Bartlett believes “the [Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission] lets people have their say about menhaden and then does nothing or very little” to properly manage the species. This could not be further from the case – the ASMFC bases its very precautionary management decisions on the most up-to-date scientific standards. The evidence points to that management being quite conservative: According to the most recent stock assessment report on Atlantic menhaden, menhaden are not overfished, nor are they experiencing overfishing. The commission deemed the species to be so healthy that the quota was actually increased 10 percent. Analysis from ASMFC experts indicated that the quota could have been increased by as much as 40 percent without the risk of overfishing the stock.
April 5, 2017 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board will meet on November 14, 2017 (all day) to consider approval of Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden. The Commission’s Business Session will meet immediately following the conclusion of the Atlantic Menhaden Board meeting to consider final approval of Amendment 3. The meeting will take place in the Washington, DC/Baltimore, MD area. Additional details will be released well in advance of the meeting.
January 27, 2017 — The following is excerpted from an article by Emily Liljestrand, a master’s student in the University System of Maryland’s Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences program. It was published Tuesday by Maryland Sea Grant:
Atlantic menhaden, though completely unpalatable to all but the most desperate diners, can be found in many commercial products. They are processed into omega-3, fatty-acid-rich nutritional supplements as well as aquaculture feed and fertilizer. People have utilized them for hundreds of years. The name “menhaden” even comes from the Native American word “munnawhatteaug,” which means “that which fertilizes.”
To get from this one-foot-long, oily, bug-eyed creature to the myriad of products we use them for requires several steps of fishing and processing. Most of which we got to witness first-hand on our trip to Reedville.
We were welcomed by the Omega Protein staff who guided us to a cozy conference room where we watched a video that demonstrated the fishing operation. Delightful as it might have been, having nine students and faculty go out on a fishing vessel that can often spend days offshore is a bit impractical.
But in the video we got to see the whole fishing process. Spotter planes take off across the Chesapeake Bay and nearshore Atlantic waters, looking for the telltale sign of a menhaden school – darkened bubbling waters where menhaden were being targeted by predatory fish and sea birds. Pilots can estimate with a high degree of accuracy not only the size of a school but also the average size of menhaden within that school.
The fishing vessel charges onto the scene and once in position, deploys two smaller seine boats that together use a single net to rope up as much of the school as they can. Once the bottom “purse string” gets pulled, it’s only a matter of hauling everything up onto the larger vessel and/or vacuuming menhaden into the hold. If done efficiently, the whole process may take no longer than half an hour.
Our guided tour around the on-shore facility in Reedville showed us how the processing continues onshore. The school of menhaden (or multiple schools, collected over several days) are deposited into a large holding vat and cooked at extreme temperatures. This procedure breaks down the fish and creates a sort of menhaden “slurry.” Through a series of heating, cooling, and further chemical processing, the lighter liquid oil gets separated from the harder, denser meal.
Omega Protein told us about its efforts to make its processing operations sustainable. It uses recycled/reclaimed water extracted from the menhaden themselves as a cooling agent, which has saved about 18 million gallons of water annually, and safely disposes of nitrogen byproducts. Omega’s fossil fuel consumption has dropped by 80 percent since 2012 thanks to several plant renovations.