Saving Seafood

Winegrad’s menhaden claims leave out the science — and the people

November 9, 2026 — Former Maryland state Sen. Gerald Winegrad has a long history in conservation. Unlike some recreational fishing advocates, he has been a strong voice for rockfish protections, helping lead Maryland’s 1980s moratorium and later calling for stronger action on rockfish harvest.

Given that history, Winegrad should know how to find and understand the science and facts that guide fisheries management. Unfortunately, his Nov. 6 commentary misinterprets the evidence on menhaden and reaches conclusions the science does not support (“Gerald Winegrad: Conservation of rockfish, osprey and menhaden is at stake“).

Winegrad says “we are simply running out of menhaden” and blames the fishery for problems facing rockfish and ospreys. But the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s assessment determined that Atlantic menhaden are not overfished, and overfishing is not occurring.

The assessment uses an ecosystem model designed to account for menhaden’s role as food for predators, with striped bass — Maryland’s rockfish — as its focal species.

Winegrad points to catches below the fishing quota as evidence that menhaden are disappearing. But a quota is a limit, not a count of fish in the water. He should also have considered the weather fishermen faced in 2025.

Read the full article at the Baltimore Sun

Ocean Harvesters pushes back on osprey study

July 22, 2026 — Ocean Harvesters has released a detailed response to a July 6 commentary by osprey researcher Dr. Bryan Watts, arguing that his recent scientific work does not establish a causal link between declining Chesapeake Bay osprey reproduction and Virginia’s commercial menhaden fishery.

The response follows an ongoing debate sparked by the publication of Widespread Reproductive Deficits in Chesapeake Bay Ospreys in Frontiers in Marine Science. As National Fisherman previously reported, the study suggested reduced availability of Atlantic menhaden may be contributing to poor osprey nesting success in parts of the Chesapeake Bay, while Ocean Harvesters maintained the research did not prove commercial fishing caused the problem.

In its latest statement, Ocean Harvesters said Watts’ own public comments reinforce that position.

“We wholeheartedly agree, as Dr. Watts said in his response, that repeating misinformation should not happen,” the company wrote. “But repeating misinformation is precisely what Dr. Watts and others have done.”

According to Ocean Harvesters, Watts acknowledged that his paper “does not link poor osprey reproduction to menhaden harvest,” while the company argues advocacy groups have nevertheless cited the research as justification for restricting the Chesapeake Bay reduction fishery.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Editorial: Menhaden study should provide data needed for bay management

July 10, 2026 — Menhaden may be a relatively small fish but they have an outsized presence in ongoing debates about the health of the Chesapeake Bay. The menhaden industry and environmental groups have sparred for years over what constitutes sustainable fishing and how the annual catch affects the critical ecosystem on which so much depends.

By including $2 million in the recently approved state budget for a neutral and clear-eyed study of menhaden, Virginia lawmakers hope to provide the data needed to chart a thoughtful path forward. This is long overdue, and both sides of the debate are right to celebrate this important step by the commonwealth.

Prized for their energy-rich oil, Atlantic menhaden play a central role in the Chesapeake ecosystem, as they have done since long before Europeans settlers arrived here centuries ago. They eat plankton and small plants that improve the water quality while also serving as a primary food source for other bay animal and marine life, from striped bass to ospreys to whales.

Read the full article at The Virginian Pilot