Maybe the first big step in the Menhaden Fishery?

[JohnR]

We all know that the Menhaden is the most important forage fish to the Bass and just about everything else in the Atlantic, right? Well - HOPEFULLY - this is the first positive step - and not the last positive step - towards properly managing the forage all the species are reliant on:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 10, 2004
CONTACT: Courtney Thompson
CHowellRFA@aol.com
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ASMFC VOTES TO ADOPT ECOSYSTEM BASED MANAGEMENT FOR MENHADEN

NEW CASTLE, N.H.-In a motion written and spearheaded by Maryland Assistant Secretary of Natural Resources, Pete Jensen, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Menhaden Management Board resolved to tackle the issues associated with the ecological role of menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay yesterday.

While menhaden are not edible by humans, they are one of the most important fish in the Chesapeake. Menhaden are the prime source of sustenance for striped bass, bluefish, weakfish and other predators so they serve an important role at the foundation of the food chain.

However, menhaden are also the number one target of the menhaden reduction industry which uses a fleet of large purse seine vessels to harvest enormous amounts of menhaden from the Bay primarily to process them for their oil.

For several years, the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) has been working hand-in-hand with the Maryland Saltwater Sportsfishermen's Association (MSSA) to address anglers' concerns that the reduction fleet is causing a depletion of menhaden in the Chesapeake and possibly coast-wide. The reduction fleet uses enormous purse seine nets which when deployed, can remove whole schools of the small oily fish in a single pull. One of the biggest problems for menhaden is that they move by the millions in tight schools and are visible from spotter aircraft. These aircraft can cover large areas and lead the purse seiners directly to the fish.

This is a unique fishery,said Jim Donofrio, Executive Director of RFA. Because the fish travel predictable routes, can be seen from the spotter plains, and then removed so effectively, it would certainly be possible for the reduction fleet to catch the very last school if left unregulated.

Yesterday's vote calls for a joint meeting of the Management Board and the Menhaden Technical committee in early February at which the joint group will outline new goals for the stock structure of menhaden stocks.

Bill Windley, long-time MSSA President and RFA representative at the ASMFC feels that this is a giant step in the right direction. "Unless the Board backs away from this issue, and I do not see that happening, they have chosen a well organized approach which even though it will not be finished as quickly as some would like, will ultimately find and implement the right measures for the management of this fishery."