NCMC Conservation News - States Vote for More Conservative Approach to Managing Menhaden

STATES VOTE FOR MORE CONSERVATIVE
APPROACH TO MANAGING MENHADEN

5/6/10 The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) voted on May 5th to consider new, more conservative ways to assess and manage Atlantic menhaden, a prey fish important to striped bass and many other predators all along the east coast.

The action came after the commission heard the confounding results of a new stock assessment that concludes "not overfished" and "no overfishing," despite historically low menhaden abundance and fishing mortality on adult fish that is so high, most spawners do not live long enough to reproduce more than once, leaving a menhaden population incapable of replenishing itself. An independent peer review of the assessment challenged the reference points used by the ASMFC and recommended adopting alternative population targets and fishing limits that will more accurately reflect the status of the fishery and the health of the resource.

The Commission asked its Menhaden Technical Committee, working with the Multispecies Technical Committee, to develop a range of new reference points that better protect the spawning stock and achieve higher abundance; that account for predation; and that consider how targets and limits are set for similar forage fish. The committees are to report back by the August 2010 meeting, if possible, with a range of management strategies to achieve the new goals, at which time the Menhaden Management Board would begin the process of implementing new management measures.

"We have been arguing for years that menhaden are not being managed responsibly, that abundance is low, and that it's harming predators and degrading the ecosystem," says Ken Hinman, president of the National Coalition for Marine Conservation (NCMC). "So we are very pleased that the ASMFC is taking this crucial step toward enacting a more conservative approach to menhaden, one that takes into account its vital role in the coastal ecosystem."

Read NCMC's statement to the ASMFC Menhaden Management Board.