Omega Protein: Menhaden quota cut ‘unnccessary’

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) has approved a 20 percent cut in the quota for Atlantic Coast menhaden bait and reduction fisheries.

The reduction is based on the 2009 to 2011 three-year catch average and is expected to take effect in the 2013 fishing season. The restrictions will remain in place for at least the next two years until the ASMFC evaluates the next stock assessment.

The restriction will limit the total amount of Atlantic menhaden that can be landed by both the reduction fishery, conducted by Omega Protein, and the bait fisheries, conducted by other third parties to 170,800 metric tons (MT).

Omega Protein’s catch averaged about 167,000 MT annually. In 2011, the company’s catch was 174,000 MT. The ASMFC also allocated the quota to each state based on historical catch data.

“Omega Protein has been fishing these Atlantic water for a century and no one is more interested in the sustainability of the resource than we are. However, we are disappointed by the ASMFC’s decision to adopt these harvest reductions,” said Bret Scholtes, Omega CEO. “There is significant scientific consensus that the most recent assessment of the Atlantic menhaden stock has a negative bias that underestimates the population. We therefore believe these measure are premeasures, if not wholly unnecessary. Omega Protein remains committed to participating in the future management actions, and remains hopeful for a more science-based decision making process that preserves both the menhaden resource and the working communities whose economies are sustained by the menhaden fishery.”

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