Anglers with an opinion on the way menhaden stocks are being managed have an opportunity to speak up at a public comment meeting Thursday in Toms River.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) is holding a series of hearings on Draft Addendum V to the Atlantic Menhaden Fishery Management Plan and New Jersey’s is scheduled for 7 p.m. at 33 Washington St. in Toms River. The meeting will be held in the L.M. Hirschblond Room.
Draft Addendum V outlines a number of measures intended to increase menhaden abundance by reducing the annual harvest. Labeled the “most important fish in the sea” due to its value as a forage fish for many species and the vital role it plays in the manufacturing of a host of products from animal feed to vitamins, bunker stocks have been declining for years. Fishery managers, almost universally, agree a new management plan is overdue.
Just what the plan will look like is open to discussion. Those interested in joining the discussion can attend Thursday’s meeing or provide written comments to the ASMFC. The deadline for those comments is 5 p.m. on Nov. 2, and they should be forwarded to: Toni Kerns, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator for Management, 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, VA 22201. Comments also can be faxed to Toni at 703-842-0741 or e-mailed to tkerns@asmfc.org with Menhaden Draft Addendum V in the subject line.
Read the full article at the Asbury Park Press.
Analysis: The article's claim that "bunker [menhaden] stocks have been declining for years" is misleading. While the menhaden poipulation fluctuates due to a variety of factors, the most recent ASMFC stock assessment concludes that the population is not overfished, meaning that the article's implication that the current management plan is responsible for any decline in menhaden is likely overstated.