Saving Seafood

U.S. Geological Survey Presentation Raises Questions About Osprey-Menhaden Link Allegations

August 6, 2024 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

Today at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) summer meeting, the Menhaden Management Board heard a presentation on osprey populations from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists; considered but did not agree to a motion to start an addendum on additional commercial menhaden fishing restrictions in the Chesapeake Bay; and ultimately agreed, as a compromise, to create a working group to “consider and evaluate options for further precautionary management of Chesapeake Bay menhaden fisheries.”

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) has issued a stunningly deceptive press release, mischaracterizing the tone of today’s ASMFC meeting and the action taken there. The CBF release suggests that the material presented by USGS overwhelmingly indicated a problem with osprey in the Chesapeake Bay, and that there was overwhelming support by ASMFC commissioners for additional regulation of menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay. Neither is true. The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition is issuing this release, together with the full audio of the meeting, to clarify the record. The full audio is available here.

Dr. Barnett Rattner and David Ziolkowski of the U.S. Geological Survey gave a presentation on the health of osprey populations from coast to coast. Mr. Ziolkowski noted that “in North America in the 1950s and 60s, osprey population started declining rapidly due to the effects of volcanic chlorine, pesticides like DDT, and it’s estimated that the Chesapeake Bay probably lost about half or more of its population.”

However, Mr. Ziolkowski explained that after measures were taken, including banning DDT, between 1966 and 2022, the eastern population of osprey increased by about 300%, and the Atlantic Coast population increased by about 587%. In the Chesapeake Bay it’s increased by about 1800% since 1960. He continued, “…what these numbers bear out is that osprey have made an astounding recovery by all accounts. The numbers are now in excess of historical numbers and in part that’s because they’ve returned to a world that’s very different than the world was before they started declining. There’s more suitable nesting structures. Water may be cleaner, et cetera.”

Mr. Ziolkowski did note that during the period from 2012 to 2022, “something’s going on,” as there has been a leveling off in the growth of the osprey populations in the mid-Atlantic. But he explained, “Care must be used when you’re interpreting these kinds of results and to understand what I mean, it’s helpful to look at osprey trends across the country. So here I’ll point out three things that I hope you take notice of in these graphs. On the left-hand side here, for example, California and Washington, opposite coast, you can see that there’s something going on in the same time period as there is here in Maryland, Virginia.”

Dr. Barnett Rattner and David Ziolkowski of the U.S. Geological Survey present a slide to the Menhaden Management Board showing that the recent leveling-off in Maryland and Virginia osprey populations, after years of explosive growth, is a phenomenon also being seen in states across the nation, on both the East and West Coast.

During the Q&A following the presentation, Commissioner Patrick Geer of Virginia, Chief of Fisheries Management at the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, noted that “Dr. [Bryan] Watts has done a survey in Virginia, for a number of years, going back to I believe 1993, which has shown the double crested cormorant population has increased 1416% in 25 years and brown pelicans have been about 882%. Now those species that are primarily piscivores…they’re competing for the same food source…Maybe the [osprey] nests aren’t surviving, maybe they’re moving out and these two species are moving in? Is that possible?” To which Dr. Rattner replied “Yes, it’s possible, certainly.”

After the presentation by the USGS scientists, Commissioner Lynn Waller Fegley of Maryland, Director of Fishing and Boating Services at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, made a motion to initiate an addendum to the Atlantic Menhaden Interstate Fishery Management Plan to consider Chesapeake Bay-specific management options for menhaden purse seine vessels larger than 300 gross tons in order to support the need of piscivorous birds and fish during critical points of their life cycle, and include options for seasonal closures of Chesapeake Bay waters, but not consider changes to the current Bay cap of 51,000 metric tons.

It became immediately apparent that the board was divided on this proposal.

The provision targeting purse seine vessels over 300 tons was obviously included to target the commercial menhaden reduction fishery, which in Virginia is operated by Ocean Harvesters and supplies menhaden to Reedville-based processer Omega Protein. This was questioned by Commissioner Proxy Eric Reid of Rhode Island, who asked if the motion wasn’t inherently flawed, since although there are carrier vessels over 300 tons, those vessels get their fish from pairs of small purse seine boats, meaning that the motion accomplished nothing. Mr. Reid’s conjecture was confirmed by a member of the delegation from Virginia.

Commissioner Proxy Nichola Meserve of Massachusetts, Fishery Policy Analyst at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, raised concerns about “diving immediately into an addendum process,” noting that other addenda in the past began “with a work group, a board work group that discussed the issues and the concerns that developed potential strategies.

After much procedural wrangling, there were two votes to postpone action on the motion, one until the October meeting and another indefinitely. Both of those votes tied 9-9. When it became apparent that the motion to initiate an addendum had reached a stalemate, Commissioner Proxy Dr. Allison Colden, Chesapeake Bay Foundation Maryland Executive Director, offered a substitute motion “to establish a board work group to consider and evaluate options for further precautionary management of Chesapeake Bay menhaden fisheries, including time and area closures, to be protective of piscivorous birds and fish during critical points of their life cycle.

The board members accepted this compromise unanimously by acclamation, without a roll call, and the working group is expected to report the results of their discussion to the Menhaden Management Board at its October 2024 meeting.

“Those attending the ASMFC’s Menhaden Management Board meeting in person or listening online could only come away with one clear message from the respected researchers at USGS, and that is the osprey’s numbers have dramatically increased and any challenges that the seabirds face are complex and multi-faceted, occurring in numerous locations on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and cannot be blamed on the menhaden harvest in the Chesapeake Bay,” stated Ben Landry, Vice President of Public Affairs for Ocean Fleet Services and spokesperson for Ocean Harvesters. “To state otherwise is wholly dishonest, but that is commonplace for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and its decades-long history of false and hyperbolic statements on menhaden fisheries.”

The menhaden fishery has long been attacked by those who refuse to accept the science-based conclusions of respected government agencies and independent assessment bodies. However, it is important to remember that since 2020, after a three-year, peer-reviewed effort, with input from both industry and environmental conservation groups, menhaden has been managed using ecological reference points that account for menhaden’s role as a forage fish throughout its range.

When the ecological reference points were adopted, Chesapeake Bay Foundation President William C. Baker stated in a release: “This is a historic day for fisheries management. Menhaden have been called the most important fish in the sea for good reason. Menhaden are an essential part of the diet of numerous fish species including striped bass, along with dolphins, whales, osprey and other seabirds.”

In 2020, Chris Moore, Senior Regional Ecosystem Scientist for CBF, wrote in the Bay Journal, “Striped bass, of all the predators studied, were shown to be the most sensitive to changes in the menhaden population. Therefore, adopting ecological reference points that protect striped bass will also protect other predator species that rely less on menhaden.”

Additionally:

  • In 2022, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission concluded there was no evidence that menhaden were being overfished along the Atlantic coast.
  • The Marine Stewardship Council in 2019 certified the Atlantic menhaden fishery as sustainable.

About the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition
The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition (MFC) is a collective of menhaden fishermen, related businesses, and supporting industries. Comprised of businesses along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, the Menhaden Fisheries 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.

We’re not ‘sinister’: Menhaden fish processers want lawsuit dismissed

July 15, 2024 — As it said it would, Cooke Inc. has asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed in a federal district court that claims the seafood company is defrauding the U.S. in the operation of the last East Coast menhaden processing facility.

Menhaden are a critically important filter-feeding baitfish in the ocean and estuaries along the East Coast, including here in New Jersey, where they are fed on by whales, birds and economically valuable finfish. While the menhaden are not overfished, the stock has contracted, frequently leading to dust-ups between environmental groups and harvesters over the quota.

Known colloquially as pogies and bunker, menhaden fish kills have occasionally caused a stink at the Jersey Shore.

Read the full article at Yahoo News!

 

MAINE: 2024 Maine pogy season makes its set

June 19, 2024 — Mainers know it’s pogy season when you’re boating along the coast and see a dark underwater cloud with quick shimmers of scales flashing near the surface. Not only are striped bass, tuna, and seals happy, but Maine lobstermen are also happy when they know fresh bait will be available in the near future.

The commercial fishery opened for Atlantic menhaden yesterday in the state, while the non-commercial fishery opened on May 1. A species that occupies coastal waters from Nova Scotia down to northern Florida is believed to consist of a single population, and during mid-June, there seems to be no shortage of them along Maine’s coast.

The preliminary allocation of the Atlantic menhaden quota for the 2024 fiscal year is 24,464,561 pounds. However, this allocation is expected to decrease significantly due to an overage in 2023, when the commercial fishery landings for the species reached 20,036,403 pounds. Despite this, the small-scale fishery continues with open harvest days on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with a daily limit for harvester vessels set at 5950 pounds, according to the Maine DMR.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

VIRGINIA: VA Governor Signs “Right To Fish” Law Protecting Menhaden Crews

April 15, 2024 — A shocking incident between an Omega Protein menhaden fishing crew and a jetskier prompted a new law to keep anyone from harassing commercial fisherman.

Delegate Hillary Pugh Kent, representing Virginia’s Northern Neck and Caroline County in House District 67, announced that Governor Glenn Youngkin has signed into law “The Right to Fish” bill, (House Bill 928) to protect commercial watermen from interference, which she sponsored.

Del. Kent said, “This bill recognizes the importance of our state’s seafood industry by creating protections for commercial watermen and deterring unlawful interference. This new law will provide restitution against those who purposefully inhibit fishing and destroy the property of commercial watermen,” she said. “It will reinforce the continued viability of our fishing and seafood industries, which are necessary to the economic and cultural fabric of the Northern Neck and all of the Commonwealth.”

Read the full article at Chesapeake Bay Magazine

VIRGINIA: Northumberland makes support for Reedville menhaden operations official

February 21, 2024 — Northumberland has made an official show of support for Omega Protein and their fishing partner, Ocean Harvesters, in a resolution that states the companies “have proven to be extremely environmentally conscious.”

The move comes in response to an ongoing push for action by opponents of the Reedville-based menhaden operations.

There’s one thing we need to jump on fast, Supervisor James Long said last month at a tri-body meeting including the Supervisors, Planning Commission, and Economic Development Commission. He noted that  Northumberland Supervisors received word that forces in Northampton County were trying to hurt the Reedville fishing industry and shut it down.

Long said it was very important for the County to get in contact with the leadership at Omega Protein and see what the County could do. “Because if that is closed or hurt, we are talking about a lot of men in Lancaster and Northumberland losing jobs,” he said.

Seemingly emphasizing that this matter should be met with action, Long noted that when there were issues stirring around the Reedville operations about 10 years ago, he went to Colonial Beach to speak with some people.

Read the full article at News On The Neck

LOUISIANA: Louisiana extends compromise menhaden fishing buffers

February 16, 2024 — Louisiana fisheries regulators voted Feb. 15 to potentially extend a current ¼-mile menhaden purse seine buffer zone to ½-mile coastwide, pulling back from a 1-mile setback requirement for menhaden fishermen.

In a unanimous vote the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission amend its earlier October 2023 notice of intent, reducing the proposed 1-mile coastwide menhaden fishing buffer to a half-mile coastwide buffer.

The amended notice would still set a 1-mile buffer for menhaden crews working in waters off Holly Beach in Cameron Parish. Commercial and recreational fishing advocates alike expressed support for the decision, after hard-fought months of debate to convince state officials.

Omega Protein menhaden processors and their fishing partners, Ocean Harvesters, say they support the commission’s decision “and look forward to a productive and safe 2024 fishing season,” starting April 15.

“Although none of the stakeholder groups achieved exactly what they were advocating for, that often makes the best compromise – to achieve an agreement through mutual concessions,” said Ben Landry, vice president of public affairs for Ocean Harvesters.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

VIRGINIA: Virginia lawmakers could order sweeping study of menhaden

January 16, 2024 — The Virginia State Legislature is considering a three-year study of the ecology, fishery impacts, and economic importance of the Atlantic menhaden population in the waters of the Commonwealth.

House Bill 19 was introduced in Richmond, Va., on Jan. 10  by Delegate R. Lee Ware of Powhatan County. The bill directs the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) in collaboration with Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) and with the cooperation of relevant stakeholders, including recreational anglers, Omega Protein – the lone company in the state’s reduction fishery – bait fishery sectors, and nongovernmental organizations, all to participate in the three-year study.

The bill states that the study must address nine concerns, which will include the seasonal abundance of Atlantic menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay; the movement rates of Atlantic menhaden between the Atlantic coast and Chesapeake Bay; and the impacts of predator demand and consumption of Atlantic menhaden on the menhaden population.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Menhaden Fisheries Coalition Corrects Misleading Statements from Chesapeake Legal Alliance

December 26, 2023 — The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition addresses five inaccurate and misleading statements made in a recent press release by the Chesapeake Legal Alliance and the Southern Maryland Recreational Fishing Organization regarding their petition for rulemaking to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC). A brief overview of inaccuracies, expert statements, and scientific findings is listed below, followed by a more detailed discussion of each false claim.

Read the full article at Seafoodnews.com

Prominent recreational fishing writer calls out sport fishing groups for their obsession with sustainable menhaden fisheries

November 13, 2023 – Charles Witek, a fisheries consultant, recreational fisherman, and writer of the “One Angler’s Voyage” blog, has recently called out sportfishing groups like the Coastal Conservation Association and Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership for their “aggressive effort to place new restrictions” on commercial menhaden fisheries at the expense of needed management measures for recreational species.

In an October 8 post focused on the Gulf of Mexico, “Menhaden advocacy: A low-cost cause for recreational fishing organizations,” Mr. Witek called menhaden “the perfect cause for such organizations to take up, as it allows them to assume the mantle of conservationists, while arguing for regulations that will only impact the commercial fleet and will not place any additional burden on the recreational fishery.”

Menhaden fishermen at work

But as Mr. Witek pointed out, the Gulf menhaden population is “in good shape.” The most recent benchmark stock assessment completed by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission in 2018 found that menhaden were neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing. The following year, the fishery was certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council. An updated stock assessment conducted in 2021 showed the stock remains healthy. Meanwhile, other species in the Gulf — including speckled trout targeted by the recreational sector — are not so healthy.

“Given the overfished state of the speckled trout stock one might logically expect Coastal Conservation Association Louisiana, which was such a strong advocate of additional regulations to protect the undoubtedly healthy Gulf menhaden stock, to demand that Louisiana take immediate, meaningful action to rebuild the speckled trout population,” Mr. Witek wrote. “However, just the opposite occurred.”

“When recreational fishing groups begin to focus most of their conservation efforts on menhaden stocks, which are generally healthy, and ignore — or worse, oppose — needed management measures for marine finfish that are often sought by anglers, such groups’ commitment to conservation might well be questioned,” he wrote.

In an October 26 post, “Conserving striped bass: Don’t be misled by menhaden,” Mr. Witek noted a similar dynamic playing out on the Atlantic coast, but replacing speckled trout with striped bass.

“Let’s get two things straight from the start: Striped bass are having some serious problems, while Atlantic menhaden are doing just fine,” Mr. Witek wrote.

The latest striped bass stock assessment by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission shows the stock is overfished; Maryland has experienced spawning failure for the past five years; Virginia has experienced spawning failure for the past three years. Meanwhile, Atlantic menhaden are neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing; the fishery is certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council; and managers have adopted ecological reference points, making it the first East Coast fishery to account for not just the health of the individual species, but also its role in the ecosystem.

“It’s completely clear, from a scientific perspective, that the current lack of striped bass has absolutely nothing to do with a lack of menhaden,” Mr. Witek wrote.

That hasn’t stopped recreational anglers like Phil Zalesak, president of the Southern Maryland Recreational Fishing Organization, from blaming the commercial menhaden fishery for the problems in the recreational sector. This can have negative impacts for striped bass conservation, according to Mr. Witek.

“Where Mr. Zalesak’s comments [at a recent ASMFC meeting] really went astray was when he noted that Maryland’s striped bass harvest had decreased by 72 percent since 2016, then alleged that such decrease was due to a lack of menhaden, and not overfishing,” Mr. Witek wrote. “That comment, more than any other that he made, exposed the danger of focusing on menhaden, rather than on striped bass biology, for if managers took that allegation at face value, it would mean that to rebuild the striped bass stock, their first concern should be rebuilding the menhaden stock, and not addressing striped bass fishing mortality. Such course could only lead to more problems for the bass population.”

It is important for fishery managers to stay focused on real conservation measures needed to rebuild the striped bass population and not get distracted by “unsupported allegations of a menhaden shortage,” Mr. Witek wrote.

“For make no mistake: There are people who are all too willing to stall the striped bass’ recovery, and to put the bass’ future in peril, in order to increase their short-term gains from the fishery.”

The ASMFC’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board “must hear our desire to reduce striped bass fishing mortality…It must hear of our concerns with spawning failure in the Chesapeake Bay…But the Board shouldn’t have to hear about menhaden at all,” Mr. Witek concluded.

Mr. Witek is an attorney who has held a seat on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, served as president of the New York State Outdoor Writers’ Association, and represents New York on various fishery management bodies.

VIRGINIA: State study on menhaden in Chesapeake Bay would cost $2.6 million

October 25, 2023 — Following legislation this past session that required the Virginia Institute of Marine Science to determine how long a study on the Atlantic menhaden population in the Chesapeake Bay would take and how much it would cost, the results are in: at least three years and $2.6 million, if everything were done simultaneously.

Recreational anglers who want to limit Omega Protein – the lone reduction fishery that catches the nutrient-rich menhaden for fishmeal and oil – have called for science to show that the company’s hauls are hurting the striped bass population that feeds on menhaden.

The company, at the same time, said their Reedville-based operations provide jobs and there’s no science to show they are hurting menhaden numbers and the greater ecosystem.

The study is the closest step toward information that both sides have sought during the debate on how restrictive Chesapeake Bay menhaden fishing regulations should be.

Read the full article at Virginia Mercury