Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Alaska seafood harvesting jobs are up for the first time since 2019

November 6, 2026 — Last year, Alaska saw the biggest increase in seafood harvesting jobs in more than a decade, according to a recent report from the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Seafood harvesters include permit holders and boat crews. Their numbers increased by 4% over the previous year, averaging over 200 more jobs per month than in 2024.

That growth follows a five-year decline, with harvesting job numbers hitting an all-time low in 2024 since data collection began more than two decades ago.

Economist Joshua Warren authored the report for Alaska Economic Trends, the labor department’s magazines. He said that five-year decline was in large part due to the pandemic.

“Other industries saw some level of return once COVID measures stopped, but those trends just seemed to continue for seafood harvesting,” Warren said.

On top of that, Warren said some fisheries closed — like red king crab and snow crab in the Bering Sea — and others saw reduced catch limits. But last year there weren’t any new closures.

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media

 

‘We’re All Commercial Fishermen’: Maine and Virginia Stand Together on Menhaden

November 5, 2026 — The following was released by the American Small Pelagics Network:

Fishermen from Maine and Virginia are standing together in support of a healthy Atlantic menhaden fishery, calling on fisheries managers to maintain the coastwide quota after a 20% reduction took effect this year.

In a new video, produced by the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA), Maine fishermen Dustin Delano and Jim Wotton join Ben Landry, a spokesperson for the Virginia menhaden reduction fishery, to discuss what menhaden mean to fishing families and working waterfronts along the Atlantic Coast.

“We’re all commercial fishermen,” says Wotton, a fisherman from Friendship, Maine. “I think we need to stick together. We need to work together.”

The video comes as the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) prepares to consider Atlantic menhaden quotas for 2027 and beyond. The Commission’s latest assessment found that the coastwide stock is not overfished and that overfishing is not occurring. Its ecological approach to management accounts for the needs of predators that depend on menhaden.

The ASMFC reduced the coastwide quota by 20% for 2026. When it adopted that quota, the Commission projected a 0% probability of overfishing in 2026.

Wotton says fishermen need time to see how that reduction plays out before managers consider another cut.

“I think we need status quo right now,” he says in the video. “I think we leave it where it is and we can work something out with the different sectors of the fishery.”

Menhaden provide bait for New England lobstermen. In Virginia’s Northern Neck, the reduction fishery supports fishing families and a community whose connection to the water spans generations.

“If you’ve not been to the Northern Neck of Virginia, the menhaden facility there and the fishing operations is the lifeblood of the Northern Neck,” Landry says in the video. He warns that severe restrictions would reach beyond the boats and affect families in a rural coastal community where other jobs are not always available.

Delano, chairman and chief strategist of NEFSA, says fishermen rely on a healthy fishery for their future.

“Fishermen rely on these fisheries for future generations,” Delano says. “But we need to take advantage of this fishery when it’s here.”

The fishermen are asking managers to maintain the quota and give the people who depend on menhaden a voice in decisions about the fishery’s future.

Watch the video: NEFSA: Maine and Virginia Stand United on Menhaden

Sources

About the American Small Pelagics Network
The American Small Pelagics Network represents fishermen, processors, suppliers, and coastal communities connected to fisheries such as menhaden, mackerel, herring, squid, and butterfish. ASPN supports sustainable fisheries management that supports critical fish species, while maintaining economic opportunities for fishermen and fishing communities.

US commercial fisheries landed 7.7 billion pounds in 2024

November 3, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries released three of its flagship reports on U.S. fisheries, showing commercial fishermen landed 7.7 billion pounds of seafood worth $4.9 billion in 2024, while the number of stocks subject to overfishing fell to an all-time low in 2025.

The agency released its 2025 Status of Stocks report alongside the 2024 Fisheries of the United States and 2024 Fisheries Economics of the United States reports, providing a broad look at the biological and economic health of U.S. fisheries.

According to NOAA Fisheries, U.S. commercial fisheries supported 1 million jobs in 2024 and generated $175 billion in sales, $44 billion in income and $70 billion in value-added impacts nationwide. Combined, the commercial fishing, seafood and recreational fishing industries generated $321 billion in sales and supported 1.7 million jobs.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

Workers union calls for support of menhaden fishery

November 2, 2026 — A coalition of recreational fishing organizations is petitioning the government to ban Atlantic menhaden fishing in parts of the U.S., while union workers in the menhaden processing industry warn cuts would cost jobs.

“Working families should not be forced to bear the economic consequences of decisions made without a full understanding of their impact,” UCFW Local 400 said. “Environmental stewardship must go hand in hand with economic justice and meaningful consideration of the communities whose livelihoods are at stake.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

UFCW Local 400 Statement on Proposed Chesapeake Bay Menhaden Cuts

October 28, 2026 — The following was released by UFCW Local 400:

United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400 is calling on lawmakers and fisheries regulators to protect the livelihoods of hundreds of working families in Virginia’s Northern Neck as they consider additional restrictions on Atlantic menhaden fishing in the Chesapeake Bay.

This call comes after an October 9 congressional letter, led by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Representative Sarah Elfreth (D-MD), urged the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) to impose further restrictions on the fishery before ongoing scientific research into Chesapeake Bay’s menhaden populations has been completed.

UFCW Local 400 represents the fishermen working in the menhaden fishery who depend on the industry for stable union jobs, wages, and benefits. These workers, many of whom are African American, have long been part of the social and economic fabric of Virginia’s Northern Neck.

According to the ASMFC’s latest stock assessment, Atlantic menhaden are not overfished and overfishing is not occurring. The Commission has already reduced the coast-wide catch limit by 20 percent this year, while additional research remains underway.

Working families should not be forced to bear the economic consequences of decisions made without a full understanding of their impact. UFCW Local 400 members recognize the importance of protecting the Chesapeake Bay and maintaining sustainable fisheries for generations to come. Environmental stewardship must go hand in hand with economic justice and meaningful consideration of the communities whose livelihoods are at stake.

Our members have demonstrated their commitment to responsible fishing practices and the long-term health of the Bay. As documented in Local 400’s reporting on Ocean Harvesters, members have worked within regulatory catch limits and supported the sustainable management of menhaden populations. In our 2025 video featuring union fishermen, workers spoke about their responsibility to the ecosystem and the importance of preserving the fishery for future generations.

Their commitment extends beyond environmental stewardship to protecting lives on the water. In 2020, UFCW Local 400 members rescued six people after their boat caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean near the Maryland-Virginia line. Their actions reflect the deep connection these workers have to the waters they navigate every day and the communities they call home.

For generations, union fishing jobs have provided a pathway to economic stability in Virginia’s Northern Neck. Further restrictions could threaten not only individual livelihoods, but also the economic security of families that have long depended on the industry.

Conservation and workers’ rights should not be treated as competing priorities. Any decisions about the future of Menhaden must be grounded in rigorous research that is informed by the workers whose lives will be affected and accountable to the communities that depend on these jobs.

UFCW Local 400 urges lawmakers and the ASMFC to refrain from imposing additional Chesapeake Bay menhaden restrictions until ongoing research can establish their necessity. Working people should have a voice in decisions that shape their livelihoods, their communities, and their futures.

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United Food & Commercial Workers Local 400 Union represents approximately 35,000 workers in the grocery, retail, cannabis, health care, food processing, service, and other industries in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. ufcw400.org

1,267 workers, community members push back on menhaden cuts

October 26, 2026 — The pushback against additional restrictions on Chesapeake Bay’s menhaden fishery is growing ahead of a key November vote, with more than 1,200 industry employees and community members urging fisheries managers to reject further cuts.

A total of 1,267 people submitted letters during the public comment period asking the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Atlantic Menhaden Management Board to reject further reductions to the Chesapeake Bay reduction fishery cap and mandatory seasonal allocations. The comments come as new juvenile menhaden survey data and concerns about the economic consequences of additional restrictions add to an already contentious management fight.

The signers included 386 industry employees and 881 community members. Three letters representing menhaden workers, residents of Virginia’s Northern Neck and people outside the region opposed options in Draft Addendum II that could cut the Bay Cap by as much as 50%, link it to the annual coastwide total allowable catch or divide the cap into seasonal quota periods.

The Atlantic Menhaden Management Board is expected to consider final action on Draft Addendum II during the ASMFC Annual Meeting in November.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

1,267 Workers and Community Members Urge Menhaden Board to Reject New Chesapeake Bay Restrictions

October 21, 2026 — The following was released by Ocean Harvesters:

A total of 1,267 menhaden industry employees and community members submitted letters during the public comment period asking the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Atlantic Menhaden Management Board to reject further cuts to the Chesapeake Bay reduction fishery cap and mandatory seasonal allocations.

The signers included 386 industry employees and 881 community members. They signed three letters representing menhaden workers, residents of Virginia’s Northern Neck, and people outside the region who recognize the fishery’s broader economic importance.

The three letters described a fishery whose economic reach extends well beyond the vessels and processing plant. The fishery supports workers and local businesses, contributes to the coastwide bait sector and supplies products used by other industries.

All three letters opposed the options in Draft Addendum II that would cut the Bay Cap by as much as 50%, tie it to the annual coastwide total allowable catch or divide it into seasonal quota periods.

The letters made six central points:

 1. The proposal has not demonstrated the need for new restrictions

Draft Addendum II does not establish a demonstrated Bay-specific biological problem, show that the existing Bay Cap has failed, connect the reduction fishery to a Bay-specific biological problem or demonstrate that the proposed restrictions would produce a biological benefit. The addendum’s own statement of the problem acknowledges that there are not enough scientific data to fully describe menhaden abundance and distribution throughout the Bay or determine the influence of fishing pressure.

2. The Bay Cap was precautionary, not a scientifically calculated biological limit

The Bay Cap began in 2006 while managers pursued research into possible localized depletion. It was later reduced from 109,020 metric tons to 87,216 metric tons in Amendment 2 and then to 51,000 metric tons in Amendment 3. Amendment 2 states that the cap was not based on a scientifically quantified harvest threshold, fishery health index or population-level study.

3. The funded Bay-specific research should be completed first

Virginia has committed $2 million over two years for research needed to inform a scientifically defensible and ecologically meaningful Chesapeake Bay harvest cap. The federal government has committed another $2.5 million, while industry-supported projects are developing a research roadmap and testing tagging technology. The letters urged the Board to allow that work to produce the needed evidence before imposing another major restriction.

4. The evidence does not establish that the reduction fishery caused the reported problems

The 2026 Chesapeake Bay osprey study reported reproductive deficits and signs of food stress in higher-salinity areas, but it does not establish that commercial menhaden harvest caused the reduced prey availability or reproductive problems. The study states that there is no fishery-independent monitoring of adult menhaden in the Bay and that the data needed to evaluate the relationship between harvest and adult menhaden abundance are not available.

The ASMFC’s Maryland pound-net analysis likewise showed different catch-rate patterns in 2023 and 2024 and identified limits on what can be inferred from those data. Those results do not establish that the reduction fishery caused the changes.

5. Seasonal allocations could disrupt fishing, processing and jobs

Employees warned that seasonal allocations could leave vessels and the processing plant idle during productive summer weeks and push more work into less dependable fall conditions. The addendum’s economic analysisacknowledges potential harm if seasonal restrictions limit periods of high catch efficiency or interrupt steady processing.

Employees also explained why access to the Bay matters. Rough offshore weather can prevent crews from seeing the schools they locate by sight or catching enough fish to keep the plant operating. Fishing in the Bay is safer, uses less diesel and gets crews home sooner.

The ASMFC’s Committee on Economics and Social Sciences has also warned that the industry must maintain a minimum operating volume and that falling below it could potentially result in a complete facility shutdown. That would affect fishermen, processing and manufacturing employees, union families, suppliers, local businesses and the surrounding Northern Neck community. UFCW Local 400 describes a heavily unionized, multigenerational workforce that includes one of Northumberland County’s largest minority workforces.

6. The economic consequences would extend beyond the Northern Nec

The letters from outside the region emphasized that the industry supports businesses, workers and customers across Virginia and in other states. The fishery supplies bait used by commercial and recreational fishermen, while the reduction fishery produces fish meal, fish oil and fish solubles. NOAA Fisheriessays these products are used in aquaculture and that refined menhaden oil is used in nutritional supplements for people.

Together, the 1,267 signers asked the Atlantic Menhaden Management Board to reject further Bay Cap cuts and mandatory seasonal allocations. They urged the Board to complete the funded research, establish the problem and show that a proposed restriction will improve the outcome before putting additional jobs and communities at risk.

The Board is expected to consider final action on Draft Addendum II at the ASMFC Annual Meeting in November 2026

About Ocean Harvesters

Ocean Harvesters owns and operates a fleet of more than 30 fishing vessels in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of America. The company’s purse-seine fishing operation is exclusively engaged in the harvest of menhaden, a small, nutrient-dense fish used to produce fish meal, fish oil, and fish solubles. Both its Atlantic and Gulf Menhaden fisheries are certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council. Committed to responsible fishing operations, Ocean Harvesters is proud to be heir to a fishing legacy that extends nearly 150 years.

Matt Strickler’s menhaden argument leaves working Virginians out of the picture

October 19, 2026 — I am an African American union worker in Virginia’s menhaden fishery. When former Natural Resources Secretary Matt Strickler reduced this debate in the pages of this newspaper to the interests of “one foreign corporation,” he left people like me out of the picture.

The menhaden fishery is a workplace. UFCW Local 400 represents fishermen in the Reedville fleet, and the fishery supports hundreds of family-supporting union jobs in Virginia’s Northern Neck. Our union members are second-, third- and fourth-generation fishermen whose livelihoods depend on this work. My fellow workers are not an “industry,” as Strickler labels us. They are Virginians supporting families and communities.

Strickler’s column gives those workers almost no attention. Instead, he writes that the company “doesn’t give a lick about Virginia” and describes the fishery as an operation that “vacuum[s] up” the base of the bay’s food chain. That rhetoric makes it easier to overlook the people who would live with the economic consequences of additional restrictions.

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference has raised that concern directly. In a letter to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, SCLC said the issue involves environmental responsibility, rural economic life, labor, wages, race and the dignity of work and warned that African American workers, union families and rural communities could be disproportionately affected. Those workers should not simply disappear from the discussion.

Snapper bill could kill fishing jobs

October 23, 2015 — The following opinion piece appeared on The Hill and was written by Shane Cantrell, Buddy Guindon, Glen Brooks and Brett Veerhusen:

The commercial and charter fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico and throughout the United States, are unified in opposition to H.R. 3094 (Gulf States Red Snapper Management Authority Act).

Every year tens of millions of Americans enjoy fresh caught seafood from their favorite restaurants and grocery stores, and millions of tourists travel to the coasts for a day of fishing on charter boats. Fish and shellfish are public resources, and our four fishing industry organizations work hard to provide the American public with sustainable access to the bounty of the Gulf of Mexico and other coastal regions of our nation.

Together, our organizations and the thousands of fishermen we represent have embraced science and management tools that promote conservation and sustainable fishing practices, reduce wasteful by-catch, operate safer and more stable small businesses, and protect fishing and shore-side jobs. We strive for sustainability, accountability, and access to some of the world’s best seafood; and we do so through active and progressive campaigns that bring fishermen, stakeholders, and regulators together to solve problems.
H.R. 3094 poses a clear and imminent threat to our jobs, our fishing communities, and the red snapper resource that we have helped rebuild to some of the highest levels on record.

H.R. 3094 creates loopholes that will erode the commercial red snapper fishery and access to red snapper by millions of American consumers. Commercial management of red snapper in the Gulf is a success story – overfishing was stopped, wasteful discarding was all-but-eliminated, and fishing businesses and jobs are profitable and stable. This is all due to the core conservation and management protections that are afforded to us under federal law (the Magnuson-Stevens Conservation and Management Act). H.R. 3094 allows the Gulf States to take away nearly 10% of the commercial quota every year without conferring with the Congressionally-approved and stakeholder-comprised Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Gulf Council). To add insult to injury, H.R. 3094 deceives the public by claiming it will not change the IFQ shares in this fishery. However, those who developed this language fail to point out that the “shares” are a percentage of the whole commercial allocation, and that any reduction in commercial allocation will reduce the quota associated with the shares. Commercial fishermen don’t keep what they catch – it goes to American consumers who purchase red snapper from restaurants and grocery stores.

Read the full opinion piece at The Hill

 

DON CUDDY: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help you’

September 24, 2105 — The Working Waterfront Festival takes place this weekend and features the traditional Blessing of the Fleet, to be held Sunday afternoon on the State Pier. This year, New Bedford welcomes NOAA’s Eileen Sobeck to the ceremony. Ms. Sobeck holds the title of Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, and in that capacity oversees the management and conservation of marine fisheries. According to the NOAA web site: “Her focus is on rebuilding the nation’s fisheries and the jobs and livelihoods that depend on them by promoting management approaches that will achieve both sustainable fisheries and vibrant coastal communities.”

It is difficult to reconcile such lofty goals with the harsh reality facing New England groundfishermen today. The National Marine Fisheries Service and its regional administrator John Bullard, in the face of widespread opposition, is intent on forcing fishing vessel owners to pick up the tab for the at-sea monitors that accompany them on fishing trips to estimate the catch and observe bycatch.

Last April, at the request of the New England Fishery Management Council, NOAA’s own social sciences branch conducted an evaluation of the impact the promotion of this particular management approach would have if industry funded. Here is a quote taken from the study’s findings: “Predictions for FY 2015 are that nearly 60% of the fleet could see negative returns to owner when full 2015 ASM costs are factored in.” The study also predicted that “industry funded ASM could result in restructuring of the fleet.”

Read the full story at New Bedford Standard-Times