Saving Seafood

Pilot Study Announced as Possible StepToward Bay-Specific Menhaden Data

May 7, 2026 — Critics of commercial menhaden fishing in the Chesapeake Bay have called for Bay-specific science. The Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS) announced a pilot is advancing that may be able to provide it.

SCEMFIS announced that a research team is preparing to test whether a method called Passive Integrated Transponder, or PIT tagging, can help fill key data gaps.

PIT tags are tiny devices inserted into fish, and when those fish later pass a detection point, the tag can be read—allowing scientists to track data such as movement, survival, and other patterns.

Read the full article at News On The Neck

SCEMFIS-Supported Menhaden Research Advances Work Toward a Scientifically Based Chesapeake Bay Harvest Cap

May 4, 2026 — The following was released by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries:

Last October, the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS) funded a team of leading Atlantic menhaden researchers to develop a roadmap identifying the research needed to develop a scientifically defensible and ecologically meaningful Chesapeake Bay harvest cap.

The project brings together experts from the Batten School of Coastal and Marine Sciences & VIMS at William & Mary, the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (CBL) at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), and NOAA, combining decades of experience in peer-reviewed menhaden research, stock assessments, ecological modeling, and survey design.

SCEMFIS, a member of the National Science Foundation’s Industry-University Cooperative Research Program, brings scientists and industry together to fund and conduct applied marine fisheries research. Since the project began, the research team has worked collaboratively online and met in person in February in Solomons Island, Maryland, to review progress and plan next steps.

The roadmap project will produce final recommendations by the end of the year. Those recommendations are expected to include proposed methodologies, timelines, and costs for additional research needed to support development of a scientifically based Chesapeake Bay harvest cap.

At the SCEMFIS spring 2026 meeting in Nashville, Dr. Robert J. Latour, Professor at the Batten School of Coastal and Marine Sciences & VIMS, outlined the work completed so far and described how the team is evaluating potential methods to generate the Bay-specific data needed to support future management decisions for Atlantic menhaden.

Dr. Latour explained that Atlantic menhaden have been the focus of significant scientific and management attention because of their dual role as an important forage species and the basis for a long-standing commercial fishery. In the Chesapeake Bay, managers have sought to balance fishery removals with menhaden’s ecological role, including through the existing Bay landings cap. However, Dr. Latour noted that the current cap is not a scientifically derived biological reference point, but rather a precautionary limit based on average historical catch.

The research team’s work is intended to help identify what information would be needed to move from a precautionary cap toward a biologically-based management framework. That includes determining how to estimate local menhaden abundance, fishing mortality, movement between the Bay and coastal waters, and menhaden availability to predators.

As part of that effort, the team will begin a pilot study to test whether Passive Integrated Transponder, or PIT, tagging can be used to generate information that existing historical datasets cannot provide. PIT tags are small tags that are injected into fish and can be detected later if the fish pass through a receiver system.

“Tagging is one potentially promising option available to us to establish a Bay cap that is grounded in the best available science,” said Dr. Genny Nesslage, Associate Research Professor at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory and leader of the menhaden roadmap project. “We are ultimately looking for research recommendations that prioritize accuracy, timeliness, and efficiency.”

The team is building on historic menhaden tagging work, including large-scale tagging efforts from the 1960s, while adapting modern technology to address current management questions. This type of tagging data can potentially help estimate exploitation and total abundance, two of the central questions surrounding Chesapeake Bay menhaden management.

The proposed tagging pilot project will include two major components.

First, researchers will conduct controlled holding studies at VIMS to evaluate whether the tagging process affects menhaden survival. Fish will be collected from the field, acclimated to captivity, and placed into trials in which all fish are handled the same way, except that some receive PIT tags and others do not. These trials will help determine whether the act of tagging itself affects survival and whether the method can produce reliable data.

Second, on May 12, the research team will visit Ocean Harvesters to begin planning field trials designed to determine whether tagged menhaden can be reliably detected during commercial fishing operations. Ocean Harvesters, which supplies menhaden to Omega Protein, has agreed to open its doors to the research team and work with them to determine how PIT tags could be retrieved on an ongoing basis while the fishery is underway. Researchers will evaluate whether receivers can be placed in the pump hose, on the chute where fish enter the vessel holds, or at Omega Protein’s processing facility as menhaden are processed. The field trials will involve placing known numbers of tagged fish into catches and measuring whether detection systems can reliably identify them under real-world harvesting and processing conditions.

The tagging concept is one piece of the broader SCEMFIS-supported roadmap project. The team is also considering other potential methods for generating Bay-specific data, including acoustic and LiDAR surveys, environmental DNA, stable isotope analysis, and other approaches that could help measure local abundance, movement, and predator consumption.

The tagging feasibility study, if successful, would provide an important early test of whether modern tagging technology can help answer some of the most challenging questions facing Atlantic menhaden management in the Chesapeake Bay.

Project Team

Selected qualifications in Atlantic menhaden and Chesapeake Bay

Robert J. Latour, Ph.D., Professor, Batten School of Coastal and Marine Sciences & VIMS, William & Mary

Quantitative fisheries ecologist focusing on predator-prey interactions, population dynamics, and habitat modeling. Lead/co-author of the 2023 study on female Atlantic menhaden reproductive biology and fecundity and co-author, with Gartland, of Virginia’s 2023 Atlantic Menhaden Research Planning report to the General Assembly and Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources.

James Gartland, Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist, Batten School of Coastal and Marine Sciences & VIMS, William & Mary

Quantitative fisheries scientist with extensive experience in the development of fisheries monitoring surveys, prey consumption models, and ecological indicators, including in Chesapeake Bay. Co-author of the 2023 menhaden fecundity study with Latour and Schueller and co-author of Virginia’s 2023 Atlantic Menhaden Research Planning report guiding Bay-specific research priorities.

Genevieve M. Nesslage, Ph.D., Associate Research Professor, CBL, UMCES

Quantitative fisheries scientist with research focusing on Atlantic menhaden spawning locations and larval dispersal, fishery sampling, survey design, overwintering habitat use, and predator-prey modeling. Former Senior Stock Assessment Scientist at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

Michael J. Wilberg, Ph.D., Professor of Fisheries Science, CBL, UMCES

Fisheries stock assessment and management strategy evaluation specialist with research focused on Atlantic menhaden movement, mortality, growth, and predator-prey modeling. Lead author of the 2020 survey design for Atlantic menhaden in Chesapeake Bay.

Amy M. Schueller, Ph.D., Research Fish Biologist, NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center

Lead assessment analyst for Atlantic and Gulf menhaden and key contributor to the working group on ecological reference points, or ERPs, that underpin Atlantic menhaden management.

About SCEMFIS

The Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS) brings together academic and industry expertise to address urgent scientific challenges facing sustainable fisheries. Through advanced methods, analytical tools, and collaborative research, SCEMFIS works to reduce uncertainty in stock assessments and improve the long-term sustainability of key marine resources.

SCEMFIS is an Industry-University Cooperative Research Center supported by the National Science Foundation. Industry organizations join SCEMFIS through an Industry Membership Agreement with one of the center’s site universities and contribute both financial support and valuable expertise to help shape research priorities.

Its university partners include the University of Southern Mississippi (lead institution) and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at the College of William and Mary. The center also collaborates with scientists from a broad network of institutions, including Old Dominion University, Rutgers University, the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, the University of Maryland, and the University of Rhode Island. These researchers bring deep expertise in finfish, shellfish, and marine mammal science.

Demand for SCEMFIS’s services continues to grow, driven by the fishing industry’s need for responsive, science-based support. The center provides timely access to expert input on stock assessment issues, participates in working groups, and conducts targeted studies that lead to better data collection, improved survey design, and more accurate modeling-all in service of sustainable, science-driven fishery management.

NASA joins SCEMFIS advisory board, bringing satellite data to fisheries research

March 10, 2026 — The Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS) has announced that researchers from NASA’s Earth Science Division have joined the center’s Industry Advisory Board, a move aimed at expanding the use of satellite-based ocean data in fisheries science.

The partnership is expected to strengthen collaboration between NASA scientists and the fishing industry while helping SCEMFIS integrate earth observation data into future research projects focused on commercially important species and ocean conditions.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

NASA to provide satellite data for fisheries research in new partnership

March 10, 2026 — Under a new partnership with the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS), NASA will provide new advanced satellite data to support fisheries and marine science research.

As part of the partnership, researchers from NASA’s Earth Science Division have joined SCEMFIS as members of its Industry Advisory Board (IAB), enabling them to integrate satellite imagery into the center’s research and creating a more formal collaborative relationship.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NASA Earth Science Researchers Join Science Center for Marine Fisheries; Will Integrate Satellite Data Into Fisheries Research

March 4, 2026 — The following was released by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries:

The Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS) is pleased to announce that researchers from NASA’s Earth Science Division have joined SCEMFIS as the latest members of its Industry Advisory Board (IAB). The partnership will create new opportunities to integrate NASA’s Earth observations into future SCEMFIS research, allow for closer collaboration with NASA scientists, and further SCEMFIS’ mission to support groundbreaking marine science research.

For decades NASA’s satellites have measured the biological and physical characteristics of the global ocean, information that has been integral to Earth science research broadly, and fisheries research in particular. The temperature of the surface ocean, for example, can influence the distribution and potential health of commercially important species such as menhaden and illex squid.

Another measurement, termed ocean color, is a key indicator of ocean health and food availability to various fish species. Because different particles and organisms in the water absorb and reflect different frequencies of light, the color of the ocean can tell us the locations and prevalence of microscopic phytoplankton. As the tiny “plants” of the sea, phytoplankton directly or indirectly feed nearly all ocean life and provide up to half the oxygen we breathe.

NASA’s decades of phytoplankton and other ocean measurements have advanced our understanding of the biological activity and overall health of the ocean, information critical to supporting coastal economies and our seafood supply chain.

NASA recently expanded ocean observation capabilities in 2024, with the launch of its PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) mission. PACE can observe the ocean in a finer range of ultraviolet, infrared, and visible light wavelengths compared to previous missions. Seeing the ocean with hundreds of colors instead of 20 or 30 enables PACE to identify different types of phytoplankton across the globe each day, a capability unavailable on previous missions. Advanced phytoplankton measurements can help fisheries better respond to ever-changing ocean conditions and improve detection of phytoplankton that may be harmful to fish populations or seafood consumers.

By partnering with SCEMFIS, researchers at NASA will collaborate to apply this information to a new range of fisheries research projects. The partnership will allow for expanded commercial applications for existing NASA data and create a more formal collaborative relationship.

“Collaborating with NASA researchers to integrate these data into our future research will give us new insights into our oceans and the marine species that are important to us, and will benefit the finfish and shellfish fisheries and our industry partners,” said Joe Myers, Senior Director of Innovation & Sustainability at Sea Watch International, and the current chair of the SCEMFIS IAB.

“NASA Earth Science is a perfect fit for SCEMFIS’ mission, which is identifying and supporting the latest breakthroughs in marine science,” said Dr. Eric Powell of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory at the University of Southern Mississippi, and the Director of SCEMFIS. “The broad portfolio of ocean observations from NASA, and the advanced data from PACE in particular, will be an integral part of future SCEMFIS research.”

About SCEMFIS
The Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS) brings together academic and industry expertise to address urgent scientific challenges facing sustainable fisheries. Through advanced methods, analytical tools, and collaborative research, SCEMFIS works to reduce uncertainty in stock assessments and improve the long-term sustainability of key marine resources.

SCEMFIS is an Industry-University Cooperative Research Center supported by the National Science Foundation. Industry organizations join SCEMFIS through an Industry Membership Agreement with one of the center’s site universities and contribute both financial support and valuable expertise to help shape research priorities.

Its university partners include the University of Southern Mississippi (lead institution) and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at the College of William and Mary. The center also collaborates with scientists from a broad network of institutions, including Old Dominion University, Rutgers University, the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, the University of Maryland, and the University of Rhode Island. These researchers bring deep expertise in finfish, shellfish, and marine mammal science.

Demand for SCEMFIS’ services continues to grow, driven by the fishing industry’s need for responsive, science-based support. The center provides timely access to expert input on stock assessment issues, participates in working groups, and conducts targeted studies that lead to better data collection, improved survey design, and more accurate modeling-all in service of sustainable, science-driven fishery management.

Marine Stewardship Council Reports That 90 Percent of US Fisheries Meet Sustainable Standards; Highlights MSC-Certified SCEMFIS Members

February 6, 2026 — The following was released by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries:

Last week, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) highlighted the sustainability of U.S. fisheries with new data from 2025 showing that, by volume, 90 percent of the U.S. catch is MSC-certified and meets the organization’s sustainability guidelines. Among the organizations highlighted are industry members of the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS).

SCEMFIS, a member of the National Science Foundation’s Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers program, brings together marine scientists and members of the commercial fishing and wind energy industries to collaborate on fisheries research focusing on sustainable fisheries. Several SCEMFIS member organizations participate in fisheries that have been certified against the MSC Sustainable Fisheries standard, including Atlantic and Gulf menhaden, Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog, longfin and shortfin squid, black sea bass, summer flounder, Atlantic and Pacific tuna, and scup.

Wayne Reichle, the Owner and President of Lund’s Fisheries, a member of SCEMFIS’s Industry Advisory Board (IAB), is quoted by the MSC in their announcement:

“For nearly ten years, Lund’s Fisheries, Inc. has collaborated with the MSC, and our partner conformity assessment bodies (CABs), to assure domestic and international markets vitally important to our long-term success that the seafood we produce is managed sustainably based on rigorous, annual, scientific and monitoring reviews. Our MSC-certified Atlantic sea scallop, Atlantic and Pacific squid, and Atlantic menhaden purse seine, scup, fluke and black sea bass trawl fisheries have provided us with access to markets that would not otherwise be available to our third-generation fishing company, to the benefit of our community, our employees and our company and independent fishermen whose cooperation we depend upon each day as we plan for the future.”

The MSC “sets criteria to ensure healthy fish stocks, minimal harmful impacts on marine ecosystems, and to promote effective and responsive management.” 62 species in the U.S. are MSC certified, with more than 1,300 certified products available in the U.S. market.

In 2025, MSC became the newest member of the SCEMFIS IAB. In joining, MSC praised the work the Center has done for seafood sustainability, with MSC’s Anthony Mastitski, Fisheries Outreach Manager, saying, “SCEMFIS plays a pivotal role in advancing scientific research across U.S. fisheries, including many that are MSC-certified. Thanks in part to SCEMFIS, these fisheries have maintained their certifications and continue to offer sustainable seafood options to consumers at home and abroad.”

In addition to having the MSC and several MSC-certified fisheries represented on the Center’s Board, SCEMFIS research has directly improved the sustainability of many of these fisheries. Among other issues, SCEMFIS-supported science has provided new insights into how climate change has impacted Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog, and how to best estimate their ages and populations; an analysis of Gulf predators’ diets that better defines the role of Gulf menhaden as a forage species in the food web; updating the maturity and fecundity schedules for Atlantic menhaden and addressed improvements in the Atlantic menhaden stock assessment; and the economic impact of the Atlantic surfclam, scup, Gulf menhaden, longfin squid, and summer flounder fisheries.

Marine Stewardship Council Joins Science Center for Marine Fisheries

December 18, 2025 — The following was released by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries:

The Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS) is pleased to announce that the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has joined the Center as a member of its Industry Advisory Board (IAB). The addition of MSC will further the Center’s mission to identify and fund the latest developments in marine science, and to support healthy, sustainable fisheries.

The MSC is the world’s leading environmental certification for wild-capture fisheries. Meeting the organization’s Fisheries Standard is a rigorous process that ensures that any seafood product carrying the MSC-certified blue fish label meets the highest benchmarks for sustainability. Fisheries that are certified against the Fisheries Standard, which is confirmed after an extensive independent audit, have a proven track record of effective management, strong science, and environmental stewardship.

“The Marine Stewardship Council shares the Center’s mission of supporting critical scientific research for economically important fisheries,” said Dr. Eric Powell, of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory at the University of Southern Mississippi, and the Director of SCEMFIS. “Our research has helped our fisheries be better managed and more sustainable, and MSC’s membership will help us expand that work.”

SCEMFIS is a member of the National Science Foundation’s Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers program, which brings together leading marine science academics and members of fishing industry to collaborate on relevant research projects, fill gaps in scientific knowledge, and utilize the results of completed research to fill industry needs. As a member of the Center’s Industry Advisory Board, MSC will have a role in identifying and funding needed research for some of the country’s most important finfish and shellfish fisheries.

“The MSC is delighted to join SCEMFIS as a member to support and contribute to cutting-edge research that deepens our understanding of U.S. fisheries,” said Anthony Mastitski, Fisheries Outreach Manager for the MSC. “SCEMFIS plays a pivotal role in advancing scientific research across U.S. fisheries, including many that are MSC-certified. Thanks in part to SCEMFIS, these fisheries have maintained their certifications and continue to offer sustainable seafood options to consumers at home and abroad.”

The partnership between SCEMFIS and MSC naturally aligns due to complementary missions focused on sustainable fisheries. SCEMFIS’s work has shown tangible impact with helping certified fisheries address and close conditions within the MSC program like improving stock health, reducing environmental impacts, and strengthening the scientific foundations of sustainable management.

SCEMFIS has long supported research that improves the sustainability of our member fisheries. Several fisheries that have benefited from SCEMFIS research have been certified sustainable by the MSC standard, including Atlantic and Gulf menhaden, Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog, longfin and shortfin squid, black sea bass, summer flounder, and scup.

SCEMFIS research has examined important issues facing these fisheries. SCEMFIS researchers have published groundbreaking findings on topics such as how climate change has shifted the habitats of Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog; have found ways to better estimate the ages and population sizes of surfclams and ocean quahogs; are researching ways to better set Atlantic menhaden catch limits; developed a detailed model of how Gulf menhaden and its predators interact in the Gulf food web; and have documented the economic impact of the Atlantic surfclam, scup, longfin squid, and summer flounderfisheries.

“Our industry members are committed to the highest standards of sustainability,” said Joe Myers, Senior Director of Innovation & Sustainability of Sea Watch International, and the current chair of the SCEMFIS IAB. “That’s why we are thrilled to work with MSC as a partner in supporting the research that is vital to the future of our industries.”

About SCEMFIS
The Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS) brings together academic and industry expertise to address urgent scientific challenges facing sustainable fisheries. Through advanced methods, analytical tools, and collaborative research, SCEMFIS works to reduce uncertainty in stock assessments and improve the long-term sustainability of key marine resources.
SCEMFIS is an Industry-University Cooperative Research Center supported by the National Science Foundation. Industry organizations join SCEMFIS through an Industry Membership Agreement with one of the center’s site universities and contribute both financial support and valuable expertise to help shape research priorities.

Its university partners include the University of Southern Mississippi (lead institution) and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at the College of William and Mary. The center also collaborates with scientists from a broad network of institutions, including Old Dominion University, Rutgers University, the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, the University of Maryland, and the University of Rhode Island. These researchers bring deep expertise in finfish, shellfish, and marine mammal science.
Demand for SCEMFIS’s services continues to grow, driven by the fishing industry’s need for responsive, science-based support. The center provides timely access to expert input on stock assessment issues, participates in working groups, and conducts targeted studies that lead to better data collection, improved survey design, and more accurate modeling-all in service of sustainable, science-driven fishery management.

About the Marine Stewardship Council
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an international non-profit organization dedicated to ending overfishing and ensuring seafood supplies for the future. A pioneer in sustainable fishing standards and a trusted nonprofit advocate for ocean sustainability, the MSC program sets environmental criteria to ensure healthy fish stocks, minimal harmful impacts on ocean ecosystems, and to promote effective management. The MSC Fisheries Standard is the world’s most widely used environmental sustainability standard for wild-caught seafood, and the MSC blue fish ecolabel helps consumers identify products from fisheries that are independently certified. For more information, visit www.msc.org.

Coastwide Menhaden Catch Limit Cut by 20% as Potential Bay Cuts Loom

October 29, 2025 — In a marathon four-hour fishery management meeting on Tuesday, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC)’s Menhaden Management Board grappled with menhaden catch limits up and down the East Coast. Under pressure from environmentalists to cut catch limits and from menhaden fishermen to protect their livelihoods, board members for the ASMFC voted to reduce the coastwide menhaden catch by 20% in 2026, allowing fishermen to land 186,840 metric tons. The total allowable catch will be revisited in time for the 2027 and 2028 seasons. This motion passed 16-2, with only Virginia and Pennsylvania voting against it.

Inside the Chesapeake Bay, however, the rules are different. The Virginia menhaden reduction fishery, led by purse seine operator Ocean Harvesters, adheres to its own limit, known as the “Bay Cap”, which is currently set at 51,000 metric tons of fish. But environmentalists argue that a much lower Bay Cap is needed to protect the environment. They want to cut the reduction fishery’s limit by 50%. Groups like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation believe menhaden are in trouble, and since menhaden are an important forage fish, that there isn’t enough food to go around for predators like osprey and rockfish. The Virginia menhaden fishing industry disputes the claim that menhaden are in trouble, or that the Bay’s osprey and rockfish population struggles are directly related to a lack of menhaden.

The Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS) just funded a new project that will pull together all of the existing research on menhaden in the Bay, identify gaps in the research, and propose new study methods to fill these gaps. This would lead to solid research for setting a meaningful Bay harvest cap for that is based on data and is scientifically defensible.

Scientists from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons, Maryland, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, and NOAA, will lead the project to develop a “research roadmap” for Bay fishery managers.

Since that future research won’t be available for some time, the ASMFC Menhaden Management Board moved to initiate a new addendum that would potentially change how the Bay Cap is used, or lower the limit. This addendum would “develop periods for the Chesapeake Bay Cap that distributes fishing effort more evenly throughout the season” and it would also develop “a range of options to reduce the Bay Cap.” These options could be anything from keeping the cap at its current level to a 50% reduction. The hope is to have a draft of the addendum ready to present at ASMFC’s next meeting this winter.

Read the full article at the Chesapeake Bay Magazine 

SCEMFIS funds new project to study menhaden in Chesapeake Bay

October 27, 2025 — As debate over the sustainability of the menhaden fishery in the Chesapeake Bay continues between the fishing industry and environmental groups, the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS) has funded a new project that will create a detailed roadmap for managing reduction fishery more effectively.

SCEMFIS said in a release the new project will feature scientists from Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, and NOAA and aims to establish meaningful harvest caps for Atlantic menhaden in the bay. The project will review existing menhaden science – including estimated biomass, migration patterns, and the consumption of menhaden by other species – and find gaps in information that can be filled via more research.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Statement of the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition on the Upcoming Atlantic Menhaden Management Board Meeting

October 27, 2025 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

Tomorrow, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Menhaden Board is slated to take up several issues which have the potential to gravely impact this historic fishery.  First, it will consider the results of the menhaden and ecological reference points (“ERP”) stock assessment. Despite a lower estimate of menhaden fecundity, the stock status remains not overfished and overfishing is not occurring. The assessment team attributed this to the fact that menhaden “management has consistently been more conservative than single-species reference points would have historically prescribed.”

The second and most immediately consequential decision facing the Board is setting the total allowable catch (TAC) of menhaden for 2026 through 2028. Some are calling for up to 55% cuts to the current TAC, which would devastate not only the 150-year-old reduction fishery, but small-scale bait fishermen all along the Atlantic coast and the lobstermen and crabbers that depend on them. This is wholly unjustified. As the scientists who prepared the ERP assessment noted, even if the current TAC were to be maintained, “the probability of exceeding the ERP FTHRESHOLD [that is, overfishing to the detriment of menhaden predators] is low.” They also affirmed that the fishery has little impact on predators like striped bass because, for one, they mostly rely on younger fish that are not targeted by the fishery and, two, because the “main driver for Atlantic menhaden availability to predators is recruitment success,” which is mostly determined by environmental factors.

That said, the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition supports a precautionary reduction of no more than 15% to the current TAC (or 198,518 metric tons). This level would ensure that there is no chance of overfishing over the next three years and provides fisheries managers confidence that the stock will remain healthy. This is a responsible TAC that promotes conservation and protects families that rely on the fishery.

The third agenda item of concern is the potential for initiating an action to consider reallocation of the TAC among the states. The Coalition does not oppose a review of current allocations. However, any attempt to mitigate the impact of drastic quota cuts by forcing only one or two states to shoulder the burden of conservation is inconsistent with the ISFMP Charter, which requires that “management measures shall be designed to achieve equivalent management results throughout the range of a stock.” As the initial and subsequent allocation systems did, any reallocation should consider current use of and dependence on menhaden. If reductions in the TAC are enacted, the Board should reevaluate the allocation of TAC to states with no fishery.

Finally, the Menhaden Board will address Maryland’s proposal to put new, unjustifiable limits on the precautionary Chesapeake Bay menhaden reduction fishery cap. There is simply no scientific justification for any such new measures. The Science Center for Marine Fisheries, administered by the National Science Foundation and supported by the fishing industry, is undertaking new research, led by the most respected scientists in the field, to investigate issues related to management in the Chesapeake Bay. The Board should await this new and relevant science before taking further action.

About the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition
The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition (MFC) 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.