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
- NEFSA: Maine and Virginia Stand United on Menhaden: Produced by the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA). The quotations in the release are drawn from the supplied transcript.
- ASMFC Atlantic menhaden stock-status page: current coastwide stock-status findings.
- ASMFC, Atlantic Menhaden Board Reduces 2026 TAC by 20%, October 31, 2025, page 1: stock status, ecological reference points, the 2026 quota and the projected probability of overfishing.
- ASMFC Atlantic Menhaden Management Board annual meeting materials, November 2026: agenda and materials for consideration of 2027–2029 specifications.
- New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association leadership page: Dustin Delano’s title.
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.