The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Atlantic Menhaden Management Board have accepted findings from a pair of studies that sought to assess the stock’s viability.
The first was a single-species assessment that indicated the stock was neither overfished nor subject to overfishing. The second considered menhaden’s role as a prey species and how the mortality of its predator and fellow prey species might impact menhaden’s ecological reference points (ERP).
The multi-species report indicated that menhaden’s reference points, which are benchmarks to judge a stock’s health, should be lowered to account for its role as a forage fish.
The management board is reviewing the reports and will consider formally establishing reference points during the ASMFC’s spring meetings in May.
“There is no one right ERP for Atlantic menhaden,” the commission said in a report summarizing both studies. “The final definition and values for the ERP target and threshold will be a management decision that takes into account the management objectives of both Atlantic menhaden and their predators.”
The menhaden assessments came as the commission and menhaden fishing firm Omega Protein have disagreed on catch limits for the species, particularly in Chesapeake Bay. The company harvests menhaden in the bay for its processing plant in Reedville, Virginia.
The ASMFC took the step of seeking a moratorium, which the U.S. Department of Commerce approved in December, on Virginia’s fishery after Omega Protein revealed it exceeded the cap.
However, the moratorium will not take effect until this June, in order to give officials in Virginia time to codify the amended catch limits and regulations.
In a statement, Omega Protein Director of Public Affairs Ben Landry said the assessment reports are “great news for all stakeholders” and that the company is eager to work with the ASMFC on managing the stock.
"Ecosystem-based management is the future of fisheries management, including the menhaden fishery," Landry said. "We think this ecosystem-based assessment is a first step in the right direction and is a major contribution to the understanding of Atlantic menhaden and its contribution to the ecosystem."
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
