A multistate commission has stepped in to do what Virginia lawmakers should have done long ago: impose restrictions on menhaden fishing. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has voted to reduce the yearly catch by roughly one-fourth to one-third from its current height.
The menhaden population has shrunk to less than 10 percent of its historic size. That has led to serious consequences for species higher up the food chain, such as striped bass. Most of the menhaden fishing is done by Omega Protein. Omega makes fish-oil supplements at a plant in Reedville, where 300 workers ground up 183,000 tons of menhaden last year.
Common sense suggests Virginia ought to regulate menhaden through the state's Marine Resources Commission, as it does with other species. But bills to place the fish under that body's bailiwick meet a swift demise in the General Assembly, which retains authority — but does not exercise it — over menhaden. Omega lavishes campaign donations to state lawmakers of both parties.
As a result, the fish is providing a case study in the tragedy of the commons. Overfishing might not be the sole cause of menhaden's decline, but it plays a major role. Fortunately, recent history proves the decline can be reversed. After Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine joined Maryland's Martin O'Malley to impose catch limits on blue crabs, that species — which, like menhaden, had suffered a sharp drop in population — quickly rebounded.
The ideal solution to the menhaden problem would be to raise the fish in aquatic farms. The species' low economic value per fish, as well as its feeding and excretory habits, make farming prospects dim. So Atlantic coastal states are duty-bound to protect the species through catch limits and similar regulatory measures.
Regrettably, this could cut into Omega's bottom line and even lead to some layoffs. But those considerations must be weighed in the scales against the greater harm that would result from failing to act. The Chesapeake Bay and its inhabitants belong to everyone.
Read the full article at the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Analysis: The article gets several facts wrong in its attempt to label the menhaden fishery overfished. Currently, based on the last stock assessment by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), menhaden are not considered to be overfished. And while the article claims that menhaden is at "10 percent of its historical size" that alone is not enough to indicate the stock is overfished. Menhaden are fished to around 10 percent of their Maximum Spawning Potential (MSP), which is not an historical measuremnet but an estimate of a theoretical unfished population. Historically menhaden MSP has rarely risen above 10 percent, and the stock has been able to rebuild itself at that level. There is also no strong correlation between menhaden recruitment and MSP.