Saving Seafood

Maine, Virginia fishermen unite against further menhaden quota cuts

November 6, 2026 — Commercial fishermen from Maine and Virginia are calling on fisheries managers to maintain the Atlantic menhaden quota for 2027, arguing that additional reductions could threaten fishing families and coastal communities that depend on the species.

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 Virginia’s menhaden reduction fishery, to discuss the industry’s economic importance and the potential consequences of further restrictions.

 

The video, highlighted in a Nov. 5 release from the American Small Pelagics Network, comes as the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) prepares to consider coastwide menhaden quotas for 2027 through 2029.

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

The ASMFC reduced the coastwide Atlantic menhaden total allowable catch by 20 percent for 2026. According to the commission’s latest stock assessment, Atlantic menhaden are not overfished, and overfishing is not occurring.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

‘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.

NEFSA questions link between menhaden harvest and osprey declines

September 18, 2026 — The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) is pushing back on efforts to link commercial menhaden harvest to historically poor osprey reproduction in portions of the Chesapeake Bay, arguing that the research has documented food stress but has not established fishing as the cause.

In a Sept. 17 op-ed in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, NEFSA director of advocacy Jason Joyce, a commercial fisherman from Maine, questioned the conclusions drawn from recent Chesapeake Bay osprey research.

“It presents a simple story: commercial fishermen catch menhaden, osprey lose their food, and chicks starve,” Joyce wrote of recent coverage of the issue. “It is compelling. It just is not what the science proves.”

His comments follow the release of new monitoring from the Center for Conservation Biology at William & Mary, which found historically low osprey reproduction in higher-salinity portions of the Chesapeake Bay.

Researchers monitored 937 osprey pairs across 23 study areas from March through August. In saltier portions of the Bay, average productivity fell to 0.25 young per pair, well below the roughly one young per pair researchers say is needed to maintain a stable population.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

House passes bill extending right whale regulatory pause

September 2, 2026 — The U.S. House of Representatives has passed H.R. 9436, legislation that would extend the current pause on new North Atlantic right whale regulations affecting the lobster and Jonah crab fisheries through 2035.

The Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act of 2026 passed the House on Sept. 1 by a 219-196 vote. The bill would extend the existing regulatory pause from its current expiration at the end of 2028 to Dec. 31, 2035.

The legislation has drawn support from Northeast commercial fishing organizations, which argue additional time is needed for ongoing research and technology development to inform future whale regulations. Conservation groups, meanwhile, say the extension would delay measures they believe are necessary to reduce the risk of serious injury and mortality to the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.

The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA), which urged lawmakers to pass the measure ahead of the House vote, welcomed its passage.

“The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association strongly supports passage of H.R. 9436,” Jason Joyce, NEFSA’s director of advocacy, said in a statement provided to National Fisherman.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

House to take up bill extending right whale regulatory pause to 2035

August 31, 2026 — A bill that would extend the current pause on the new North Atlantic right whale regulations affecting the lobster and Jonah crab fisheries until 2035 is moving toward a vote in the U.S. House, with fishing industry groups renewing calls for lawmakers to pass the measure.

H.R. 9436, the Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act, would extend the existing regulator pause from its current 2028 expiration to 2035. The legislation was introduced by Rep. Mike Lawler, R-New York, and Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine.

As National Fisherman reported in July, the House Natural Resources Committee advanced the bill in a bipartisan 22-13 vote on July 15. The committee has since formally reported the legislation, and it is moving toward consideration by the full House.

The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA), one of several commercial fishing organizations supporting the extension, sent a letter to Congress ahead of the expected House consideration urging lawmakers to pass the bill.

“As H.R. 9436 comes before the full House, we respectfully ask you to support its passage and to help ensure that this bipartisan committee-supported legislation moves forward without delay,” NEFSA Vice President John Drouin wrote to Congress.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

August fundraiser to support New England fishing communities

July 22, 2026 — The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) will bring commercial fishermen, industry supporters, and coastal communities together next month for its fourth annual “Save Our Fisheries” Fundraiser at Cook’s Lobster & Ale House on Bailey Island, Maine.

The family-friendly event is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 15, from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Organizers say proceeds will support NEFSA’s efforts to preserve New England’s commercial fishing heritage and protect working waterfronts as the industry continues to navigate regulatory and economic challenges.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

New regulations to protect right whales may be paused until 2035

July 20, 2026 — A bill cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine’s 2nd District that would further delay new protections for North American right whales has advanced out of Committee.

Golden has cited government layoffs and other slowdowns as reasons for extending a moratorium on new regulations from 2028 to 2035.

Golden said in remarks to the House Natural Resources Committee that the extended moratorium would provide time to collect more data, ensuring that Maine fisheries aren’t unfairly burdened. The Maine Department of Marine Resources and the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association wrote letters of support for the legislation.

“We need more time to make sure that any new measures we ask lobstermen to take will strike a very careful balance between protecting marine life and protecting the livelihoods of fishermen themselves,” Golden said at the committee hearing.

But Gib Brogan of ocean protection nonprofit Oceana said the science is clear.

“All of the available evidence shows that the protections that are in place right now are not enough to support the recovery of North Atlantic right whales.”

Read the full article at Maine Public

Fishermen advocate begins campaign against offshore wind, ‘industrializing’ of the ocean

June 8, 2026 — The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association began a campaign to bring attention to what it says is a radical climate activism’s “industrializing” of the ocean through green energy agendas and the disastrous effect such objectives have on commercial fishermen’s livelihoods.

President of the fishermen advocacy Aaron Williams told The Center Square that his organization’s campaign “is intended to bring attention to the growing concerns many commercial fishermen, seafood producers, and coastal communities have regarding the rapid expansion of offshore wind development in productive fishing grounds.”

Read the full article at the Center Square

Fishing safety trainings offered

April 15, 2026 — This spring, the Fishing Partnership Support Services team has teamed up with local partners Maine Lobstermen’s Association, Green and White Hope, New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association, Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association and Sunrise Economic Council to bring its free safety programming to Maine fishermen. The team will be holding Safety and Drill Conductor training in May at the following locations:

May 18-19, Eastport Port Authority, 141 Water Street, Eastport

May 21-22, USCG Station Southwest Harbor, 184 Clarke Point Road, Southwest Harbor

Trainings are designed specifically for commercial fishermen and lobstermen, including captains and crewmen, and are also helpful for family members, including children, who may join trips. Each day of training provides hands-on opportunities to learn or hone fundamental skills to fish more safely.

Read the full article at The Ellesworth America

American seafood is national security — and Washington is failing fishermen

February 10, 2026 — I have spent my life working on the water as a commercial fisherman. Today, I serve as the chairman and chief strategist of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association, (NEFSA) representing fishermen who fish the waters of the North Atlantic and the New York Bight, along with their families, business and industry associations and members of the public who support wild-caught American seafood. I speak for people who work these waters every day and for communities that depend on them.

We see ocean conditions as they exist, not months later in reports. Yet policy too often prioritizes theory over experience and paperwork over outcomes. Commercial fishermen are not line items. We live with the consequences of every decision made in Washington. On the water, those decisions can make fishing less safe, manage fish poorly and drive American commercial fishermen out of business.

AMERICAN SEAFOOD IS AMERICAN FOOD SECURITY

n 2026, it is time to clearly recognize that U.S. wild-caught seafood is U.S. food security. America controls one of the largest and most productive ocean food resources in the world, and commercial fishermen make it possible to feed this country under some of the highest standards anywhere.

At the same time, we are forced to compete against cheap imported seafood flooding U.S. markets and undercutting American harvesters. Much of this product comes from overseas operations with weak or nonexistent environmental and labor standards, yet it is marketed as fresh or sustainable. Meanwhile, American fishermen following the rules are slowly being pushed out.

American farmers know this problem well. Domestic food producers who follow strict regulations are routinely undercut by imports that do not. Commercial fishermen, like farmers, are a pillar of national resilience. Any new food policy must rebuild and protect domestic seafood production, so American fishermen can feed American consumers under American standards.

Read the full article at Fox News