Saving Seafood

Menhaden fisheries along East Coast face further harvest restrictions

November 12, 2026 — Seeking to balance ecological and economic needs, East Coast fishery managers have decided to curb the commercial menhaden harvest along the Atlantic coast by 17% over the next two years — far less than what conservationists demanded but much more than what commercial fishers wanted.

Meeting in Newport, RI, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted Nov. 10 to cut the allowable coastwide catch by 9% in 2027 and by another 9% in 2028. The move was portrayed as a compromise to help struggling Atlantic striped bass and maybe ospreys without putting New England lobstermen and Virginia’s menhaden fleet out of business.

Menhaden are fatty fish that serve as food for other fish and wildlife, including ospreys and striped bass. Environmentalists worry that the declines in these predators are due to a decline of menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay, which has only been documented through fishermen harvest totals.

Menhaden also serve as lobster and crab bait for commercial fisheries from Maine to the Carolinas. The East Coast harvest is dwarfed, though, by the menhaden fishery in the Chesapeake Bay. Omega Protein, based in Reedville, VA, and its fishing partner Ocean Harvesters catch tens of thousands of tons of menhaden annually to pulverize or “reduce” them into fish oil and fish meal.

Read the full article at the Bay Journal

Dr. Wilson Laney Receives Captain David H. Hart Award for Outstanding Contributions to Atlantic Coast Fisheries

November 11, 2026 — The following was released. by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is pleased to announce Dr. Wilson Laney, formerly with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, as the recipient of the Captain David H. Hart Award, the Commission’s highest honor recognizing outstanding individual contributions to marine fisheries along the Atlantic coast.

 Dr. Laney is being recognized for more than three decades of exceptional service to Atlantic coast fisheries science and interstate fisheries management. Throughout his career, he has been a dedicated scientist, collaborator, mentor, and advocate for sound science, contributing to virtually every aspect of the Commission’s work, including stock assessments, fishery monitoring, habitat conservation, and fishery management planning.
 
“Wilson contributions to Atlantic coast fisheries and this Commission are truly extraordinary. His dedication to sound science, his ability to bring people together, and his tireless commitment to the conservation of our marine resources exemplify everything the Captain David H. Hart Award represents. His legacy will continue to benefit fisheries professionals and the resources we manage for years to come,” stated Spud Woodward, ASMFC Awards Committee Chair.
 
Among his many accomplishments, Dr. Laney played an instrumental role in establishing the Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership and provided longstanding leadership to the Commission’s Habitat Committee. He also made significant contributions to numerous Commission technical committees and management boards, helping advance science-based management for a wide range of Atlantic coast species.
 
One of his most notable contributions was his leadership of the Cooperative Winter Tagging Cruises, a research initiative that spanned 38 years. Beginning in the program’s early years in 1987, Dr. Laney helped coordinate vessels, researchers, funding, and field operations, bringing together more than 125 scientists and graduate students from state and federal agencies and universities. The cruises generated valuable information on striped bass movements, growth, survival, and mortality, with tagging data contributing to the coastwide striped bass stock assessment and providing a unique source of information on the species’ wintering grounds.
 
Dr. Laney’s commitment to fisheries conservation and science has continued well beyond his retirement from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. He remains actively engaged in fisheries research, habitat conservation, and mentoring colleagues and students, demonstrating an enduring dedication to the resources and professionals he has served throughout his career.
 
Named for Captain David H. Hart of New Jersey, one of the Commission’s longest-serving members and a tireless advocate for the advancement and protection of marine fishery resources, the award recognizes individuals whose contributions have made a lasting difference to Atlantic coast fisheries.
 
Dr. Laney exemplifies the spirit of this award through his scientific excellence, collaborative leadership, perseverance, and unwavering commitment to the stewardship of marine resources. The Commission congratulates Dr. Wilson Laney on this well-deserved recognition and thanks him for his extraordinary contributions to Atlantic coast fisheries.
 
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PR26-20
 

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

For many, striped bass fishing is a way of life. But the iconic species could face collapse

October 30, 2026 — Striped bass fishing has been Bill Jakob’s passion for more than 60 years, and he remembers an era when he’d spend all night casting his line into the crashing waves off Montauk and get eight or nine fish ranging up to 40 pounds (18 kilograms), a big catch by anyone’s standards.

Then, after years of heavy fishing, the big runs of stripers stopped.

“I’m part of the problem, back in the years. I ran party boats, we slayed fish with reckless abandon,” said Jakob, president of the Montauk Surfcasters Association on the easternmost tip of Long Island.

Increasingly, fishermen like Jakob fear the good days of catching striped bass are coming to an end. The fish aren’t showing up like they used to, and young stripers are becoming harder to find.

Scientists who study striped bass say anglers on the East Coast are right to be concerned, and they say years of overfishing are just part of the problem. The fish have experienced eight consecutive years of poor reproduction in their most critical habitat in the Chesapeake Bay, regulators said last week, and the population has declined along much of the Atlantic coast.

Read the full article at The Associated Press

TRCP Misrepresented Key Menhaden Facts on the Tom Rowland Podcast

October 23, 2026 — The following was released by the American Small Pelagics Network:

Jaclyn Lunaas and Chris Macaluso of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership gave listeners a materially misleading account of menhaden science and management across both the Atlantic and Gulf fisheries. This ranges from Atlantic menhaden and Chesapeake Bay issues to Gulf menhaden in the Gulf of Mexico, along with claims involving striped bass, osprey, red drum, spotted seatrout, king mackerel, tarpon and other species. Host Tom Rowland largely accepted their claims rather than testing them against readily available fisheries data and the published record of the relevant management agencies. The result was a discussion in which advocacy was repeatedly presented as settled science.

Lunaas said scientists had been overestimating coastwide biomass by about 40% and implied the catch limit had therefore been “way too high.” But the ASMFC says the revision primarily reflected a new estimate of natural mortality that rescaled the historical population; it was not a 40% population collapse. Total biomass “has actually slightly increased since 2021,” and Atlantic menhaden remain not overfished, with overfishing not occurring .

Lunaas and Macaluso also misrepresented the claim that ASMFC scientists “recommended a 50% cut” in the coastwide menhaden harvest. The ASMFC’s Menhaden Technical Committee and ERP Work Group analysis shows that the Board asked scientists to model a range of catch scenarios and calculate the risk of exceeding the Ecological Reference Point (ERP) target and threshold. A reduction of roughly 50% or more was one modeled scenario, not a singular scientific recommendation. The target is a conservative objective below the threshold that defines overfishing. The Board adopted a 20% reduction for 2026 , projected to have a 0% chance of exceeding the ERP overfishing threshold in 2026 . Calling a 50% reduction simply “what the science said” misstates both the process and the result.

The episode’s “running out of food” premise also omitted a central ASMFC finding: the ERP framework already incorporates predator needs, and even ending all Atlantic menhaden fishing would not, by itself, rebuild striped bass to their biomass target . Sustainable recreational and commercial striped bass fishing mortality remains necessary. Maryland’s newest data further undercut the simple food-shortage narrative: the 2026 juvenile striped bass survey recorded an eighth consecutive year of below-average striped bass reproduction while finding young Atlantic menhaden in abundance and Atlantic silversides at their highest level in more than a decade. Menhaden indices for 2023-2026 were 3.78, 3.66, 2.54 and 2.49; every one exceeded every annual index from 1992 through 2022, and the four-year average was the highest since 1988-1991.

The osprey discussion blurred observation and causation. The 2026 peer-reviewed osprey study found serious reproductive deficits and food stress in higher-salinity areas and identified reduced menhaden availability as a primary driver there, but it did not establish that commercial menhaden harvest caused that reduced availability. USGS is continuing research on the relationship among menhaden availability, osprey reproduction, commercial harvest and environmental conditions. Food stress is not proof of fishery causation.

Macaluso likewise emphasized approximately 140-160 million non-target fish, roughly 30,000 red drum and about 250,000 spotted seatrout without the proportional context. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries reported total bycatch of about 3.6% of catch by weight in the 2024 study. Over 2015-2024, menhaden fishery dead bycatch accounted for 9.9% of red drum fishery removals by weight and 2.7% of spotted seatrout removals, with directed fisheries accounting for the overwhelming majority. Raw totals without those denominators give a distorted picture of the study.

Macaluso also claimed that rebuilding Gulf king mackerel requires leaving 40% more menhaden in the water, while Rowland asserted that tarpon migrating from South Florida to Louisiana “have to have” menhaden. The peer-reviewed Gulf ecosystem model does not support that 40% prescription: its king-mackerel ERP target was 0.964 of 2016 menhaden fishing mortality, and NOAA currently lists the Gulf king mackerel stock as not overfished and not subject to overfishing. The model includes tarpon among many predators of juvenile menhaden, but it does not establish Rowland’s claim that tarpon migrate to Louisiana because food is insufficient off Key West. Newer Gulf diet research likewise found nearshore predators to be generalists using a diverse prey base, with no single menhaden-dependent predator.

Macaluso also called the slower pace of catching the Virginia quota “a pretty clear indication there’s something wrong with that population.” That is not a stock assessment. The ASMFC says its coastwide model cannot determine menhaden stock status within Chesapeake Bay or provide quantitative advice on separate Bay and ocean harvest levels. Those are precisely the questions additional research is intended to answer. Management should establish the problem, connect it to the fishery and show that a proposed restriction would improve the outcome before imposing additional costs on working families.

Rowland should have challenged these claims: whether the 40% revision was an actual population decline; whether 50% was a recommendation or one modeled scenario; what the ASMFC’s striped-bass model says; whether the osprey research established harvest causation; and what Macaluso’s Gulf bycatch figures mean in proportion. He did not. Lunaas and Macaluso are free to advocate for lower quotas, different allocations and additional restrictions, but nobody has the right to mislead the public about what the science says.

Nobody has a more direct stake in healthy Chesapeake Bay, Gulf and Atlantic fisheries than the people whose livelihoods depend on them. UFCW Local 400 has put the fishermen themselves on record ; the NAACP Virginia State Conference has urged Virginia’s governor to protect working families while state-funded science is completed; and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference has warned that these decisions affect African American workers, union families and rural communities. Their future depends on healthy fisheries just as surely as their jobs do. The debate should rest on the complete scientific record, not selective claims presented as settled fact.

Sources

• Tom Rowland Podcast, Episode 1032 – show notes and transcript

• ASMFC – Atlantic Menhaden FAQs

• ASMFC – 2025 Atlantic Menhaden Stock Assessment Update

• ASMFC – Atlantic Menhaden species page

• ASMFC – Technical Committee and ERP Work Group Report on Stock Projections to Inform 2026-2028 TAC Levels

• ASMFC – Atlantic Menhaden Board Proceedings, October 2025

• ASMFC – Atlantic Menhaden FAQ, Question 13 on striped bass rebuilding

• Maryland DNR – 2026 Juvenile Striped Bass Survey Results

• Maryland DNR – Juvenile Striped Bass Survey methods and data

• Maryland DNR – Atlantic Menhaden Baywide Juvenile Index dataset

• Watts et al. – Widespread reproductive deficits in Chesapeake Bay ospreys (2026)

• USGS – Osprey Population and Availability of Menhaden in Chesapeake Bay

• Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries – Menhaden Bycatch Study Results

• LGL Ecological Research Associates – Louisiana Menhaden Purse-Seine Bycatch Final Report

• Berenshtein et al. – Gulf menhaden ecosystem model and ecological reference points

• NOAA Fisheries – King Mackerel stock status

• Chee, Leaf & Dillon – Northern Gulf predator diet and trophic dynamics study

• UFCW Local 400 – Members Spotlight the Real Faces of the Menhaden Fishery in New Video

• UFCW Local 400 – Ocean Harvesters Members Ratify Strong New Agreement

• Southern Christian Leadership Conference – Letter to Governor Wes Moore concerning the menhaden fishery

 

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.

Press Contact
Stove Boat Communications
(202) 595-1212
contact@smallpelagics.com

Worry and encouragment: What two new reports say about the future of Atlantic Striped Bass

October 22, 2026 — There is cause for encouragment and reason for concern from the latest Chesapeake Bay Young-of-the-Year Atlantic Striped Bass surveys.

The annual surveys are done by the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

The news from Maryland was discouraging. For the eighth straight year, striped bass recruitment in Maryland waters was below average. The news from Virginia was better; the numbers show an average spawn and rebounding numbers. The Chesapeake numbers are so important because experts say 70% to 90% of all Atlantic Striped Bass on the east coast are spawned in the Chesapeake.

Striped bass are an iconic species with a multi-billion dollar economic impact on every state from Maine to South Carolina.

Read the full article at WKRG

VIMS Survey Finds Average Striped Bass Year Class in Chesapeake Bay

October 21, 2026 — Preliminary results from an ongoing long-term survey conducted by William & Mary‘s Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) suggest that an average year class of young-of-year striped bass was produced in the Virginia tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay in 2026.

Striped bass are an important top predator in the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and a valuable resource for commercial and recreational anglers. The 2026 year class, representing fish hatched this spring, will reach fishable sizes in three to four years.

The VIMS Juvenile Striped Bass Seine Survey recorded a mean value of 9.52 fish per seine haul in the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay. The 2026 value is an increase from the 5.12 fish per seine haul recorded in 2025, though both years are similar to the historical average (7.77 fish per seine haul) observed in Virginia tributaries. The improvement in recruitment observed in 2025 and 2026 is consistent with historically observed patterns: years with below-average recruitment (i.e., 1999, 2002, 2012, 2024) were followed by years with average to above-average recruitment (i.e., 2000, 2003, 2013, 2025).

“While this year’s class is considered average in terms of abundance, it represents a significant increase from 2024,” said Jack Buchanan, marine scientist at VIMS and the chief scientist of the Juvenile Striped Bass Seine Survey, who noted that striped bass recruitment can vary considerably from year to year. “A single year of poor recruitment can be partially offset by the previous or following year’s production, which helps stabilize the overall population and the fisheries it supports.”

Read the full article at ECO Magazine

MARYLAND: The Chesapeake Bay’s young rockfish are still struggling. It may be the ‘new normal.’

October 20, 2026 — For the eighth straight year, Maryland scientists found well below average numbers of young rockfish in the Chesapeake Bay.

This summer’s survey, released Monday, showed the best results since 2018, the last time that surveyors counted an above-average quantity of juvenile striped bass, or rockfish. But with “young of the year” index of 5.5 this year — compared to a historical average of 10.8 — Maryland scientists aren’t really celebrating.

“The important piece of information is that it is still below average, and it is now the eighth year of low abundance,” said Carrie Kennedy, the Tidal and Coastal Monitoring and Assessment Division director for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

Virginia scientists also released their results Monday, showing a slightly better picture. The state’s index was 9.52, a bit above its historical average of 7.77.

In Maryland, it’s possible that these continued low numbers of rockfish at or below 3 inches in length are “the new normal,” Kennedy said. Fisheries scientists believe that changing environmental conditions, including water temperature, could be altering the species’ reproduction in some way. Maryland’s survey has been running since 1954, making it one of the longest-running fish surveys in the nation, according to the DNR.

Read the full article at Maryland Matter

MARYLAND: Maryland striped bass reproduction improves, remains below average for eighth straight year

October 20, 2026 — Striped bass reproduction in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay showed signs of improvement this year but remained below average for the eighth consecutive year, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

The department’s annual juvenile striped bass survey recorded an index of 5.5, the highest since 2018. That is up from 4.0 in 2025 and 2.0 in 2024, but still well below the long-term average of 10.8.

Biologists say they collected 723 juvenile striped bass during sampling at 22 sites in the Choptank, Nanticoke, and Potomac rivers and the upper Chesapeake Bay. The upper Bay and Choptank River produced the strongest results, according to researchers.

Read the full article at WBOC

Maryland Survey Finds Strongest Four-Year Run of Juvenile Menhaden Abundance in Over 30 Years

October 19, 2026 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) 2026 juvenile striped bass survey, which tracks the reproductive success of Maryland’s state fish in Chesapeake Bay, has documented another year of abundant juvenile Atlantic menhaden, completing the strongest four-year average of juvenile menhaden abundance since 1988–1991, according to the full survey series dating back to 1959.

In today’s announcement, Maryland DNR reported that young Atlantic menhaden were again found in abundance during its 2026 juvenile striped bass survey. There was also good news on two other important forage species. Atlantic silversides were recorded in the highest numbers in more than a decade, and the Bay anchovy has shown better than average relative abundance over the past four years.

The underlying menhaden data reveal an especially striking trend. For four consecutive years, from 2023 through 2026, the Bay-wide juvenile menhaden abundance index has exceeded every annual reading recorded during the preceding 31 years, from 1992 through 2022.

The menhaden index reached 3.78 in 2023, followed by 3.66 in 2024, 2.54 in 2025 and 2.49 in 2026. The four-year average of 3.12 is the highest for any consecutive four-year period since 1988–1991.

The results provide substantial evidence of sustained strong juvenile menhaden abundance in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay survey waters, where menhaden serve as an important food source for predatory fish and birds.

The news for striped bass itself was less encouraging. Maryland reported an eighth consecutive year of below-average striped bass spawning success. However, the 2026 young-of-year index of 5.5 was the highest since 2018, improving from 4.0 in 2025 and 2.0 in 2024. The long-term average is 10.8.

Maryland DNR identified several environmental factors that can affect striped bass spawning success, including winter temperatures, spring rainfall and river flows. The agency noted that prolonged regional drought and resulting low river flows may have contributed to unfavorable spawning conditions in 2026.

Maryland’s latest survey adds four more years of strong juvenile menhaden observations to the scientific record as fisheries managers consider the future of menhaden management in the Chesapeake Bay. While the juvenile survey does not directly measure adult menhaden biomass or availability in particular areas, its findings provide important evidence about the Bay’s forage fish population.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) has also explained that ending all menhaden fishing would not, by itself, rebuild the striped bass population to its biomass target. The ASMFC manages Atlantic menhaden using ecological reference points designed to account for the forage needs of striped bass and other predators.

Sources: Maryland DNR announcement | Maryland DNR juvenile striped bass survey | the ASMFC Atlantic Menhaden FAQs

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.