Saving Seafood

Menhaden Fisheries Coalition Analysis Finds 92 Percent of Atlantic Menhaden Already Left In Water to Serve Ecological Role

Analysis Challenges Arguments That Interim Ecological Reference Points Are Urgently Needed

An analysis finds that 92 percent of Atlantic menhaden are left in the water to serve their ecological role. A high quality version of this infographic is available by clicking on the image.

WASHINGTON – November 9, 2017 – The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

A new analysis from the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition (MFC) finds that current management leaves 92 percent of Atlantic menhaden to serve their ecological role as forage for predators. The analysis is based on data from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) 2017 update stock assessment of Atlantic menhaden. The MFC has produced an infographic illustrating this analysis, which is available here.

In recent weeks, numerous ENGOs and recreational fishing groups up and down the Atlantic Coast have published articles and op-eds arguing that menhaden are in dire need of greater protection. These groups include the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the American Sportfishing Association, and local activists from coastal states like Rhode Island and New Jersey. However, the MFC’s analysis challenges the assertion that fisheries take too many menhaden, and makes clear that the vast majority of fish are already left in the water to fulfill their ecological role.

The analysis tracks an average menhaden year class through its full life cycle. It finds that two-thirds of juvenile menhaden (younger than age 1) are either consumed by predators or die of natural causes. These juvenile menhaden are the preferred forage for predator species and are not targeted by the fishery, which takes less than 1 percent of these fish.

Over half of the menhaden that survive to age-1 are allocated to the ecosystem to be eaten by predators such as striped bass and marine birds or die of natural causes. Only 8 percent of age-1 menhaden are harvested by the fishery.

The menhaden fishery largely harvests menhaden over the age of 2, but even for this age group, it only harvests about 40 percent of fish. Overall, just 8 percent of a menhaden year class is harvested by the fishery. The overwhelming majority of fish – 92 percent – are not impacted by the fishery.

This MFC analysis is an update of a previous analysis that was based on the ASMFC’s 2015 benchmark stock assessment of Atlantic menhaden. That analysis was reviewed by the ASMFC last fall. Both the 2015 benchmark assessment and the 2017 update assessment found that Atlantic menhaden is neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing.

National Wildlife Federation Revives Menhaden Myths with Latest Petition

October 24, 2017 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition: 

The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is misleading the public on the health and history of Atlantic menhaden – an economically critical fish species along the East Coast. Pushing an online petition and enlisting the help of Hollywood celebrities to call for further restrictions on the menhaden fishery, NWF is repeating and amplifying oft-repeated misinformation on the species.

Menhaden were not overharvested, and quota cuts have not been responsible for their resurgence. NWF states that “fishing pressure” had reduced the coastwide menhaden population, and the species has only begun to recover thanks to harvest reductions that went into place in 2012. Neither of these claims is accurate. Five years ago, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), the interstate body responsible for menhaden management, instituted harvest cuts based on an inaccurate and flawed stock assessment. But two improved, subsequent assessments, one released in 2015 and one earlier this year, instead confirm that menhaden are not overfished, nor are they experiencing overfishing.

More importantly, the assessments also found that this is not a recent development: menhaden have not been overfished at any point in the last decade, and menhaden fishing mortality has been on a long-term downward trend and is near the lowest it has ever been. Last year, the ASMFC considered the menhaden stock to be healthy enough that they voted to raise the coastwide quota.

The menhaden fishery does not heavily impact striped bass. Menhaden are one of the many forage species that are eaten by striped bass. But recent science finds that the menhaden fishery does not have as much of an impact on predator species as commonly thought. A study published this April by Dr. Ray Hilborn and a team of fisheries scientists concluded that the size of predator populations had little correlation to the number of forage fish available to them, and that other factors, including the location and naturally fluctuating populations of forage species, were just as influential.

It also found that, specifically in the case of menhaden, that predators such as striped bass are not in direct competition with menhaden fishermen: bass typically target smaller fish, while fishermen generally catch older fish.

Menhaden oversight did not begin in 2012. While 2012 marked the first time that a coastwide quota was put into effect, the NWF is wrong to suggest that this marks the beginning of menhaden oversight. The ASMFC has monitored the menhaden fishery since the late 1950s, and state-level catch limits and restrictions were in place long before the 2012 quota.

NWF surrogates are also wrong characterizing the current debate over menhaden reference points as the menhaden fishery wanting to “remove restrictions” on the species. Members of the menhaden fishery instead support quotas and reference points for menhaden that are supported by the science produced by the ASMFC, and reflect the healthy state of the menhaden population.

Menhaden are not “the most important fish in the sea.” Credible scientists do not consider any one species “most important.” The moniker “the most important fish in the sea” was coined by Rutgers University English professor H. Bruce Franklin in his 2007 book of the same name. The phrase stems from entirely qualitative judgments made by the author that lack scientific founding. There has been no scientific study that validates this claim, and studies that have attempted to analyze how menhaden affects other species and the ecosystem, like the Hilborn et al. study published earlier this year, have found that it is just one of many factors impacting predator species.

The Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Menhaden Advisory Committee discussed the book upon its publication in a March 2008 meeting and concluded, “the book should be sold as a book of fiction and generally disregarded.” There is no scientific evidence supporting the hyperbolic statement that any one species of fish is “most important,” and this phrase represents only Dr. Franklin’s opinion, rather than any scientific consensus.

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 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.

Update Assessment Confirms Sustainable Atlantic Menhaden Stock

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.

Forage Fish Should Be Managed on a Case-by-Case Basis: Menhaden Science Committee

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.

[1] ASMFC Biological Ecological Reference Points Workgroup, “Memorandum: Review of Hilborn et al. 2017,” July 14, 2017

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell Voices Coalition Concern Over Marine Monuments at House Hearing

WASHINGTON – March 15, 2017 – The following was released by the National Coalition for Fishing Communities:

Today, New Bedford, Mass. Mayor Jon Mitchell delivered written testimony to the House Natural Resources Committee on behalf of Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities. His testimony expressed serious concerns about the impacts of marine monuments, designated using executive authority under the Antiquities Act, on fishermen and coastal communities.

Mayor Mitchell had planned to testify in person before the Subcommittee on Water, Power, and Oceans as a representative of the NCFC, but was unable to attend the hearing in Washington due to snow and severe weather conditions in the Northeast.

In his testimony, Mayor Mitchell questioned both the “poorly conceived terms of particular monument designations,” as well as “more fundamental concerns with the process itself.” Mayor Mitchell also delivered a letter to the committee signed by eleven NCFC member organizations further detailing their concerns with the monument process and how fishing communities across the country are affected by monument designations.

The letter was signed by the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association, the California Wetfish Producers Association, the Fisheries Survival Fund, the Garden State Seafood Association, the Hawaii Longline Association, the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition, the North Carolina Fisheries Association, the Southeastern Fisheries Association, the West Coast Seafood Processors Association, and the Western Fishboat Owners Association.

In addition, three NCFC member organizations, the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association, the Hawaii Longline Association, and the North Carolina Fisheries Association submitted individual letters outlining in further detail their opposition to marine monuments.

Mayor Mitchell was also critical of the monument designation process, by which a president can close off any federal lands or waters on a permanent basis using executive authority under the Antiquities Act. He instead praised the Fishery Management Council process created by the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which he said affords greater opportunities for input from stakeholders, scientists, and the public.

“The monument designation process has evolved effectively into a parallel, much less robust fishery management apparatus that has been conducted entirely independent of the tried and true Fishery Management Council process,” Mayor Mitchell said. “It lacks sufficient amounts of all the ingredients that good policy-making requires: Scientific rigor, direct industry input, transparency, and a deliberate pace that allows adequate time and space for review.”

Mayor Mitchell used his testimony to call attention to issues affecting fishing communities across the country, including New England fishermen harmed by the recently designated Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, and Hawaii fishermen harmed by the expansion of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. He also expressed the concerns of fishermen in Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, and Pacific waters in dealing with the monument process.

Mayor Mitchell concluded by calling on Congress to integrate the executive branch’s monument authority with the established processes of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, ensuring that the long-term interests of all stakeholders are accounted for.

“This Congress has an important opportunity to restore the centrality of Magnuson’s Fishery Management Councils to their rightful place as the critical arbiters of fisheries management matters,” Mayor Mitchell said. “Doing so would give fishing communities much more confidence in the way our nation approaches fisheries management. And it could give the marine monument designation process the credibility and acceptance that it regrettably lacks today.”

The mayor spoke at the hearing on behalf of the NCFC. The city of New Bedford, as Mayor Mitchell stated in his testimony, was instrumental in the founding of the Coalition, providing an initial seed grant for its creation.

Read Mayor Mitchell’s full testimony here

Read the NCFC letter here

Read the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association letter here

Read the Hawaii Longline Association letter here

Read the North Carolina Fisheries Association letter here

Latest Scientific Analysis Supports Increased Atlantic Menhaden Quota

Aug 1, 2016 – The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

WASHINGTON (MFC) – An analysis conducted by scientists at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) finds that the coastwide Atlantic menhaden quota can be substantially raised without impacting the sustainability of the species.

In a memo by the ASMFC’s Atlantic Menhaden Technical Committee on June 22, the Committee described projections it ran using nine different potential quota levels for the 2017 fishing season. These projections found a 0 percent chance of overfishing menhaden in 2017, even when menhaden quota was increased by up to 40 percent. Projections were run 1,000 times for each potential quota level to ensure that a full range of potential scenarios were accounted for in the estimates.

The Atlantic Menhaden Technical Committee is composed of 21 scientists from 13 states along the U.S. Atlantic coast and the National Marine Fisheries Service. The Committee’s projections were short-term (2014-2017) to eliminate uncertainty inherent in longer-term projections.

The ASMFC will hold its summer meeting August 2-4 in Alexandria, Va., where it will discuss, among other topics, Atlantic menhaden, and the possibility of raising its quota for 2017.

Atlantic menhaden catch totaled 171,900 mt tons in 2014. The ASMFC set menhaden quota at 187,800 mt for 2015 and 2016.

In 2015, the ASMFC’s Atlantic menhaden stock assessment found that the menhaden stock was healthy and sustainably managed, with the species neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing. It also found that fishing mortality is at an all-time low, and that menhaden fecundity (egg production) has been strong in recent years. Based on these findings, the ASMFC raised the menhaden quota by 10 percent last year.

Menhaden are used to produce fishmeal, fish oil, and fish solubles due to their high concentration of healthy Omega-3 fatty acids. They are also prized for their use as bait in other fisheries.

About the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition

The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition is a collective of menhaden fishermen, related businesses, and supporting industries. Comprised of over 30 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.

View the release here

Pew Vs. Pew: A Tale of Two Stories

June 3, 2016 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

WASHINGTON (MFC) — On May 16, the Pew Charitable Trusts published an article (“Mid-Atlantic Council Poised to Take Historic Action for Forage Fish”), on their website, authored by Peter Baker, Director of US Oceans, Northeast, falsely claiming that “Many forage fish, such as … menhaden, are fished in large numbers for use in fish oil, bait, and livestock feed, with no limits on how many can be caught[.]”

The truth? Atlantic menhaden are actually closely monitored and responsibly regulated.  It’s curious for Pew and Mr. Baker to claim there are “no limits” on the catch, since in a May 15, 2014 Pew story, “Atlantic Menhaden Catch Cap a Success,” Mr. Baker himself wrote that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) “voted into place a cap that reduced the overall catch of Atlantic menhaden by 25 percent from the previous year.”

It is not clear whether Pew has changed its mind, or if they are experiencing institutional amnesia.  In their most recent release, they claim “at this scale, industrial fishing could dramatically reduce the numbers of forage fish, potentially destabilizing the entire ocean ecosystem.” Yet, two years ago, they stated that the “commissioners should be proud that that they’ve established an effective management system for the largest fishery on the Atlantic coast.” This is yet the latest example of misinformation from Pew regarding menhaden management.

Pew’s sudden forgetfulness notwithstanding, the fact is that rather than being unmanaged and unrestricted, the menhaden fishery operates under the responsible oversight of the ASMFC, which manages fisheries in state waters from Maine to Florida. The ASMFC sets coastwide harvest quotas for menhaden based on the best available science.

With the release of the most recent assessment of the Atlantic menhaden stock in 2015, the ASMFC found menhaden to be neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing. In another indicator of stock health, the assessment also found fishing mortality to be at an all-time low. Combined with the fact that fecundity – a measure of the stock’s reproductive ability – is at an all-time high, the science clearly supports the fact that menhaden are not only well-protected, but are well-positioned for the future.  In fact, as testament to the successful efforts undertaken by menhaden fishermen to ensure stock health, in 2015 the ASMFC even raised the harvest quota by 10 percent.

These conclusions have also been supported by several independent organizations. In a report last year, the non-profit Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) rated menhaden as one of the best-managed forage fish species in the world. In their report, menhaden was cited as one of only four fish species to have improved its status from previous years. Corroborating SFP is a certificationfrom the third-party sustainability certifier Friend of the Sea, which independently rated Atlantic menhaden as sustainable.

The evidence is clear – menhaden is a healthy, well-managed stock, not the unmanaged fishery Mr. Baker claims.

Menhaden Fisheries Coalition releases ‘Atlantic Menhaden: Fishing by the Numbers’

March 16, 2016 (Menhaden Fisheries Coalition) — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

While prominent environmental groups have claimed for years that the menhaden fishery has harvested too many menhaden, a thorough analysis from the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition shows that the number of fish being caught is a small fraction of the coastwide population.

Between 2004-2013, the fishery only harvested an average of 6.4 percent of the overall menhaden population. This leaves over 93% of menhaden left in the ecosystem as forage for birds, fish and other sea creatures. Menhaden fishing mortality, which hit an all-time low in the last assessment, is dwarfed by natural mortality, which accounts for predation and mortality from other causes outside of the fishery.

The analysis, “The Fate of an Atlantic Menhaden Year Class,” and accompanying infographic, “Atlantic Menhaden: Fishing by the Numbers,” is based on the catch data included in the 2015 Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Atlantic menhaden stock assessment. Also examined in the analysis is the age of menhaden that are caught by the fishery. The fishery specifically does not target juvenile menhaden-those most likely to serve as forage-and the oldest fish-those that are the most fertile spawners. This harvest approach is reflected in the catch data: the fishery overwhelmingly catches menhaden between the ages of 2 and 3, and the catch for juvenile and older menhaden is negligible. 

These estimates, along with the 2015 assessment’s headline findings that menhaden are not experiencing overfishing nor are they being overfished, further confirm the sustainability of the fishery. With such a small percentage of the menhaden population actually going to harvest, as well as other positive indicators for stock health, it is clear that current menhaden management is safeguarding the health and the future of the species.

For more information on the results of the analysis, please review the infographic below. For more information on how these estimates were calculated, read “The Fate of an Atlantic Menhaden Year Class.”

Omega Protein Upholds ‘Gentlemen’s Agreement’, Avoids Fishing Near Virginia Beach

January 29, 2016 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

In July of last year, Menhaden Fisheries Coalition member Omega Protein met with recreational fishermen from the Virginia Beach area to discuss and resolve potential issues arising from menhaden fishing in the area. At the summer meeting, the two groups reached an informal agreement, whereby Omega Protein would not fish within three miles of shore of an area extending from Cape Henry Lighthouse to the Sandbridge fishing pier, some of Virginia Beach’s most popular tourist areas (See the image below, taken from this WAVY report).

 

Since then, Omega Protein has kept its promise to avoid these areas. The images below are maps of menhaden fishing activity in the Virginia Beach area, provided by the Beaufort Laboratory of NOAA’s National Marine Fishing Service.

Press accounts in December 2015 referenced sightings of Omega Protein vessels fishing offshore in the vicinity of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in Virginia Beach as evidence that the agreement was violated. In fact, any sightings of fishing vessels in that locale would have been outside the agreed-upon area, and well within legally regulated fishing zones.
The image on the left shows fishing activity through July 2015, before the agreement was reached. The image on the right shows activity from the end of July through remainder of the 2015 fishing season. Since the agreement was entered into, there has been no menhaden fishing in the Virginia Beach three-mile buffer zone; all menhaden fishing activity in southern Virginia has taken place outside of the agreed-upon off-limits area. As shown in these maps, Omega Protein vessels adhered to the “Gentlemen’s agreement” for the remainder of the fishing season.

Menhaden Fisheries Coalition Responds to Claims of ‘Environmental Collateral Damage’ from Mission Blue – Sylvia Earle Alliance

January 29, 2015 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

A recent post from Mission Blue – Sylvia Earle Alliance (“Chesapeake Bay Suffers from Menhaden Reduction Industry”) makes several claims about the Atlantic menhaden fishery, most notably that the fishery, particularly in the Chesapeake Bay, is responsible for “environmental collateral damage.” The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition disputes this categorization, as based on the most recent assessments conducted on the menhaden stock, there is little evidence that the menhaden fishery is negatively impacting the health of the species.

Mission Blue claims that menhaden are the only species “managed directly by Virginia’s General Assembly,” and implies that menhaden are managed according to political, rather than scientific, considerations. But menhaden harvest levels are not set by the Virginia General Assembly. Instead, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), an interstate scientific and management body, is responsible for setting menhaden quotas according to the latest menhaden science and stock assessments. The General Assembly, while approving and implementing the quotas within Virginia borders, do not determine what harvest levels are appropriate, and do not act contrary to the ASMFC’s scientific advice.

According to the ASMFC’s most recent 2015 stock assessment, Atlantic menhaden are neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing, meaning that the fishery is not significantly impacting the long-term viability of the resource. In 2015, the ASMFC even raised the coastwide menhaden quota by 10 percent, in recognition of the fishery’s sustainability. The 2015 stock assessment contains other indicators that point to the fishery being sustainable. Fishing mortality is near an all-time low. The reduction fishery is smaller and having less of an impact on the menhaden stock than at any point in its history. Fecundity is near an all-time high.

Fecundity is a particularly important measurement, as it may be one of the best metrics available to predict the future health of the stock. As the ASMFC has acknowledged, the size of the menhaden population does not have a discernible impact on the number of menhaden that actually spawn, with environmental conditions being a far better indicator than fishing for whether or not future menhaden year classes will be large enough to sustain the resource.

According to the ASMFC, “the stock-recruitment relationship observed to date is weak at best,” and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science states that “environmental conditions are likely more important than the size of spawning stock in determining reproductive success.” Ensuring that the stock is producing enough eggs—as is currently the case—is thus the best tool fisheries managers have to influence future menhaden stock size.

Considering that the Atlantic menhaden reduction fishery is smaller than at any point in its history, and is currently abiding by the scientifically determined catch levels set by interstate fisheries managers, the Menhaden Coalition finds that there is little to support the claim of “environmental collateral damage.” Evidence instead points to the fishery being responsibly and sustainably managed.