Saving Seafood

New Research Looks to Further Reduce Uncertainty and Improve Confidence in Menhaden Assessments

October 27, 2022 — The following was released by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries:

Researchers with the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS) have been at the forefront of investigating new ways to improve the science behind menhaden fisheries, the largest fisheries by weight on both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The latest effort funded by the Center looks at one of the remaining areas of uncertainty in menhaden science, and how much it potentially affects the accuracy of menhaden assessments.

Menhaden assessments rely largely on data supplied by the menhaden fishery, which, along with assessment modeling and other data collected for the assessments, is used to estimate key measures such as biomass, abundance, and fecundity. But because the data supplied by the fishery is limited to the younger menhaden that are harvested commercially, there is a comparative lack of data on older menhaden to use in the assessment. As a result, these older menhaden are grouped together for counting purposes in what is known as a “plus group.”

Defining these plus groups incorrectly has the potential to introduce bias into the assessments, which can affect their accuracy and subsequently affect quota allocations for the fishery. This study looks at the composition of these plus groups to find how big an impact this potential bias has on the final assessment results.

To determine this, the study ran a series of simulations, based on the existing assessment models for both Atlantic and Gulf menhaden, and determined how assumptions made about the plus groups affect the end results. In the models currently used in the Gulf and Atlantic menhaden stock assessments, Gulf menhaden use a plus group of age 4+ menhaden, while Atlantic menhaden use a plus group of 6+. The study simulated what would happen to the assessment results if these definitions were modified by including more or fewer ages of menhaden in the group.

The study found that the definition of what is included in the plus group varies in how it affects the accuracy of the assessment. For Gulf menhaden, increasing the age of the plus group decreased the amount of bias in measurements like abundance and spawning stock biomass, while reducing the plus group age decreased the amount of bias in measurements like recruitment. For Atlantic menhaden, the composition of the plus groups had less of an impact, with the best performing plus group being the one currently used in the assessment model.

“These results show that not only are well-defined plus groups important for stock assessments, but also that the current plus groups are among the best-performing options for the current menhaden assessments,” said Genny Nesslage, an Associate Research Professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science’s Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, and one of the authors of the study. “We also outline ways for fisheries scientists to improve these assessments and make them even more accurate.”

About SCEMFIS

SCEMFIS utilizes academic and fisheries resources to address urgent scientific problems limiting sustainable fisheries. SCEMFIS develops methods, analytical and survey tools, datasets, and analytical approaches to improve sustainability of fisheries and reduce uncertainty in biomass estimates. SCEMFIS university partners, University of Southern Mississippi (lead institution), and Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, are the academic sites. Collaborating scientists who provide specific expertise in finfish, shellfish, and marine mammal research, come from a wide range of academic institutions including Old Dominion University, Rutgers University, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, University of Maryland, and University of Rhode Island.

The need for the diverse services that SCEMFIS can provide to industry continues to grow, which has prompted a steady increase in the number of fishing industry partners. These services include immediate access to science expertise for stock assessment issues, rapid response to research priorities, and representation on stock assessment working groups. Targeted research leads to improvements in data collection, survey design, analytical tools, assessment models, and other needs to reduce uncertainty in stock status and improve reference point goals.

New ‘Salmon Wars’ Book Spreads Menhaden Myths

July 14, 2022 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

Yesterday, Macmillan Publishers released Salmon Wars, a factually questionable book by former Los Angeles Times managing editor Douglas Frantz and former journalist turned private writer Catherine Collins. The book falsely claims that “overfishing from the Gulf of Mexico north to the Chesapeake Bay threatens a slender fish called a menhaden,” and inaccurately states that menhaden is “an integral player in minimizing algae blooms because it eats phytoplankton.”

According to the February 2020 stock assessment accepted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Congressionally-chartered interstate compact that regulates shared migratory fishery resources among East Coast states, Atlantic menhaden is neither overfished nor is overfishing occurring. A simple cursory review of the assessment clearly illustrates that the Atlantic menhaden population has not been overfished in several decades. Similarly, in 2021, the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission found that the “Gulf of Mexico Gulf Menhaden stock is not experiencing overfishing and is not overfished.”

In fact, both Atlantic and Gulf menhaden are certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council, which operates the world’s most respected global fishery certification program. This designation indicates that the stock is “fished in a way that does not threaten the population’s long-term health and minimizes the damaging effects of fishing to the surrounding wildlife and ecosystem.”

Mr. Frantz and Ms. Collins also continued to misinform their audience by making the oft-repeated claim that menhaden minimize algae blooms. This statement was discredited in a study conducted by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at the College of William and Mary that proved menhaden do not improve overall water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. The study examined “the amount of phytoplankton and nitrogen consumed and excreted by small groups of juvenile and adult menhaden during 6-hour periods,” and found that “older menhaden hardly fed on phytoplankton at all.”  

The study, published in the February 22, 2010, issue of the Marine Ecology Progress Series, concluded that “based on [their] results as well as ecosystem modeling simulations, menhaden do not appear to represent a significant mechanism for removing nutrient inputs to the Bay.”

Opinion: Menhaden fishing is a lifeline for Virginia workers

July 7, 2022 — The following is an excerpt of an op-ed by Ken Pinkard, a 38-year, third-generation menhaden fisherman in Virginia’s Northern Neck region. It was published yesterday by the Daily Press and the Virginian-Pilot.

The Virginia Saltwater Sportfishing Association’s Mike Avery inaccurately claims that the Chesapeake Bay’s menhaden fishery is hurting striped bass (“Advocates call for limits of menhaden fishing in Virginia”). In reality, menhaden fishing is not only sustainable, it’s a critical economic engine for Virginia’s Northern Neck.

For decades, menhaden fishermen have worked in the Chesapeake Bay alongside crabbers, oystermen and other watermen. The menhaden fishery is currently the largest employer of minority and union workers in rural Northumberland County, and Virginia will not attract “good-paying” jobs by destroying it. The proposals Avery promotes would have a devastating impact on hardworking Virginians whose families rely on the fishery for their livelihoods.

The economy of the Northern Neck depends on Omega Protein and affiliated companies, just as Detroit depends on GM and Ford. Omega Protein and its fishing partners offer the highest blue-collar wages with the most generous benefits in the Northern Neck. These are union jobs. Every worker has a voice. Some 98% of our Reedville-based employees live in Virginia and 90% live in the Northern Neck.

Read the full op-ed with a subscription at the Daily Press

Menhaden crews rescue boaters in Gulf of Mexico

June 3, 2022 — Menhaden fishermen working in the Gulf of Mexico rescued six boaters, including two children, after their small craft capsized in the Mississippi Sound May 31.

Purse seine crews from the F/V Mississippi Sound and the F/V Frosty Morn, recovered two people from the water and four atop the overturned boat around 2 p.m.

Mississippi Sound captain Joel Deihl said the vessels responded to a Coast Guard broadcast about the boaters in distress and located them. After picking up the boaters the purse seine crews transferred them to the Coast Guard.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

COVID-impacted landings data could have major consequences for Virginia’s menhaden fleet

May 2, 2022 — Action the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is set to take this week regarding menhaden allocations at its annual spring meeting could have a significant impact on some members of the fishery based on how they responded to the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago.

On the agenda for the commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board session on Tuesday afternoon is a discussion about whether to adjust or remove 2020 landings data when considering commercial allocations for future years, which are scheduled to take effect next year. The discussion comes after officials in Virginia proposed a change, citing the impact COVID-19 had on the menhaden fishery in the state.

Virginia has, by far, the largest operation within the fishery. In most years, the state accounts for roughly 80 percent or more of commercial landings. However, that number dipped to 75.7 percent in 2020. While that may not seem to be a significant drop, commissions set catch quotas on fish like menhaden based on historical catch data, so a recent dip in the numbers would impact how much operators can harvest in future years.

Ocean Fleet Services Vice President Monty Deihl said the drop was due to menhaden fishing vessels missing out on 59 fishing days due to fishing crews dealing with the coronavirus. And even that number doesn’t truly reflect the situation that Ocean Harvesters, which operates vessels for Omega Protein under the management of Ocean Fleet Services, endured two years ago.

“We had boats that were 15 hours away from our dock, and we hadn’t even started fishing yet,” Deihl recalled. “If a crew member came up with a fever and symptoms, the captain had to turn the boat all the way back around and come back. We couldn’t count that as a COVID day because the boat was away from the dock.”

Compounding the issue for Ocean Harvesters was the fact that each crewmember was needed in order to operate the vessel and harvest menhaden safely.

As a large company with a union workforce, Deihl said Ocean Harvesters had to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to the letter. That included quarantining crew members for days until test results came back negative. Smaller operators and family run outfits, Deihl said, had an easier time working in those guidelines and still fish.

Last year was a different story for Ocean Harvesters, thanks to the development of effective COVID-19 vaccines. Deihl said 100 percent of the company’s crew members got their shots.

“COVID was just as bad in the summer of 2021 as it was in 2020 as far as in the communities, but we never lost one single fishing day for COVID,” he said.

It appears fishery officials understand the situation. In a memo earlier this month, the Atlantic Menhaden Plan Development Team (PDT) told the management board that it recommended removing the 2020 data from allocation consideration and adding the 2021 totals, which are expected to be finalized later this year, in its place.

The memo stated that other options are on the table, but the PDT advised that they would either push implementing the new allocations beyond 2023 or rely on old data.

“By adding 2021 to the time series, it would alleviate the concerns the PDT has with only dropping 2020 data by allowing an additional year of data in the analysis that better reflects current fishing activity,” the memo stated.

But there’s still a chance the Atlantic Menhaden Management Board could opt against that recommendation and factor 2020 data into future allocations. Deihl said that could have a tremendous negative impact on jobs.

Ocean Harvesters and Omega Protein operate out of Reedville, Va., a rural community at the neck of the Chesapeake Bay 75 miles east of Richmond. The menhaden plant in the small town employs about 260 workers, and Deihl said a similar number of people work as contractors.

A reduction in allocation by as little as 3 or 4 percent could impact dozens of workers. And while that may not seem significant, Deihl pointed out it could be devastating in a small community like Reedville.

“They already had to fight through COVID, being quarantined and all that,” he said. “When you’ve worked there 20 or 30 years, and your family has worked there for three or four generations, and you lose a job to another state, it just seems extremely unfair.”

 

Restrictive Louisiana Menhaden Legislation Would Have Major Costs; New Report Details Fishery’s Economic Value

May 2, 2022 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

A bill introduced in the Louisiana State Legislature earlier this month would enact harsh restrictions on menhaden fishing within the three miles from shore comprising the state’s waters. Now a new economic report, funded by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS), shows the economic importance of the Gulf menhaden fishery to Louisiana and Mississippi, illustrating how devastating such legislation could be to coastal communities.

Produced by Thomas J. Murray and Associates and led by a respected former Virginia Institute of Marine Science economist, the report shows that over two-thirds (67.7 percent) of the overall Gulf menhaden catch coastwide occurs within three miles of shore, generating $285 million in economic output. Menhaden fishing in these state waters supports 1,400 jobs, according to the report. Overall, the Gulf menhaden fishery generates $419 million in economic output and supports 2,059 jobs.

Louisiana HB1033 would cap landings within three miles of the Louisiana coastline at 260,000 metric tons (MT), which proponents of the bill acknowledge is likely too low. Additionally, the bill would impose progressively harsher catch limits closer to shore, capping landings at 104,000 MT or 5,250 sets between one and two miles from shore, and 52,000 MT or 2,650 sets within one mile of shore. According to the Murray and Associates report, the fishery made over 25,000 sets within one mile of shore between 2015-2019, and another 29,000 sets between one and three miles from shore.

Despite attempts at further regulation, the Gulf menhaden fishery is already being sustainably managed. The most recent stock assessment found that the species is not overfished nor is overfishing occurring. Since 2019, the Gulf menhaden fishery has been certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council.

“This report demonstrates that these proposals would likely cause real economic harm to not just the menhaden fishery, but to the coastal communities that rely on it,” said Ben Landry, Director of Public Affairs at Ocean Harvesters, which operates a fleet of menhaden fishing vessels. “Severely restricting our fishermen in state waters is both damaging and unnecessary.”

The report looked at the direct, indirect, and induced impacts of the fishery, which is one of the largest in the region. To get a complete picture of the fishery’s economic footprint in Louisiana and Mississippi, the report considered the value of menhaden landings themselves, income generated from fishing, employment activity, and business and tax revenues.

Using landings and employment data provided by the fishery, as well as a statistical model to estimate economic impact, the report found $260 million in direct economic output. It found an additional $45 million in indirect economic output from interactions with other economic sectors that rely on the menhaden fishery and marketing related industries. It found $115 million in induced “third wave” output from increased household expenditures on goods and services throughout the region thanks to the fishery. And it found $25 million in state and local business taxes generated by the fishery.

The report further broke down impacts based on where menhaden were caught relative to shore. The single largest portion of the fishery’s economic impact occurred within one to three miles of shore, with $147 million in output coming from those areas, supporting 719 jobs.

SCEMFIS is partially funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation as part of its Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers program.

Read the full release at Accesswire

 

House backs limits on Louisiana’s biggest fishery, but pogie bill faces tough path in Senate

April 29, 2022 — A bill that would put the first substantial limits on Louisiana’s biggest but least-regulated commercial fishery cleared the state House of Representatives this week but could face fierce opposition in the Senate.

House Bill 1033 would cap the menhaden catch in Louisiana waters at 573 million pounds per year and require menhaden fishing vessels to report daily locations and catch amounts to the state.

The menhaden industry has avoided regulation in Louisiana while other Gulf of Mexico states have tightened rules, enacting catch limits and fishing exclusion zones to protect the many species that depend on the pencil-length fish for food.

The measure passed by a wide margin – 75 to 22 – on Wednesday but the industry has more allies in the Senate, said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Joseph Orgeron, a Republican from Larose. Last year, another bill aimed at limiting the menhaden industry passed the House but died amid negotiations in a House-Senate conference committee. A Senate vote on the bill has yet to be scheduled.

Read the full story at Nola.com

Pogie bill would put the first-ever limits on Louisiana’s biggest catch

April 25, 2022 — A bill that would put the first substantial limits on Louisiana’s largest but least-known commercial fishery could improve the health of the Gulf of Mexico but cripple the economies of some coastal communities.

House Bill 1033 would cap the menhaden catch in Louisiana waters at 573 million pounds per year – an amount that far exceeds the state’s combined annual catch of shrimp, oyster, crab and crawfish but falls far below the unrestricted hauls the menhaden industry has enjoyed for decades.

The bill would also require menhaden fishing vessels to file daily reports on catch amounts and locations, creating a level of accountability that the bill’s proponents say has been sorely lacking.

“We owe it to our coast, our state and ourselves to understand and manage this fishery properly,” David Cresson, CEO of the Coastal Conservation Association of Louisiana. “Right now we don’t and it’s not.”

Still, industry officials say the bill could force the closure of the state’s two menhaden processing plants, putting hundreds of people out of work in areas with few other job prospects.

“This bill is going to close us down in a couple years, and it’s going to have a direct impact on Plaquemines Parish,” said Shane Treadaway, a fleet manager for Daybrook Fisheries in Empire.

Read the full story at Nola.com

Maine lawmakers approve bill to limit number of pogie-fishing licenses

April 14, 2022 — Under a bill passed by the Maine Legislature on Wednesday, the state’s pogie fishery will be closed to all fishermen in 2023 except current license holders who meet certain criteria.

To be eligible, fishermen must have held a license to fish for pogies in at least two of three years from 2019-21, and have landed 25,000 pounds in at least one of those years. Those who have the required license history but have not yet met the landings requirement have until the end of 2022 to harvest 25,000 pounds.

Pogies, also known as menhaden, have returned to state waters in large numbers over the past few years. As herring landings have dwindled, many lobstermen have switched to pogies for bait. At the same time, lax licensing requirements have lured others to enter the pogie fishery.

But the fishery has a regional quota, set by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which is up for reassessment next month. State officials are concerned that the rules will be changed in ways that will limit the amount harvested from Maine coastal waters and estuaries. If the fishery remained open to additional licenses, that would mean less would be available for each fisherman, threatening the bait industry.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald