Dear Colleague,
Please join us in writing to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), an interstate body that manages coastal fishery resources, to encourage them to protect Atlantic Menhaden.
ASMFC’s upcoming decision will have a profound impact on the management of menhaden, a fish that forms the basis of the Atlantic marine food chain and whose numbers are dwindling. The Commission could choose to continue its current failed system, or for the first time set a fishing target for management which is not only sustainable but will actually restore this valuable fishery.
Congress has often worked in a bipartisan fashion to fund and provide oversight over federal efforts to conserve and restore Atlantic fish, wildlife, marine mammals and critical coastal habitat. Our commitment to the restoration and conservation of Atlantic coastal ecosystems is intended to preserve the thousands of jobs that are dependent on a healthy ecosystem, and to ensure that future generations can continue to benefit from these precious resources. Today, the growing success of these federal efforts is embodied in the recovery of striped bass, summer flounder, bluefish as well as bald eagles and osprey. These species provide billions of dollars to coastal economies and support thousands of jobs. However, the success of federal efforts to protect our coastal ecosystems and economies could be at risk if management of Atlantic menhaden is not changed.
Menhaden are an essential food for many of the species that live in or fly above the Atlantic Ocean. But they are also the subject of one of the East Coast’s largest fisheries and the menhaden population has declined to an all time low. Dwindling populations of menhaden are problematic for the coastal ecosystem because they act as an integral food source for our iconic coastal species – striped bass, bluefish, osprey, marine mammals and tuna. Menhaden abundance also directly impacts the economic health of coastal economies and communities. Whale watching, saltwater fishing, and bird watching generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually in coastal economic activity, and many of these species rely on menhaden as an important part of their diet. Menhaden is also an important baitfish for commercial and recreational fishermen.
The ASMFC must act now to conserve menhaden populations to preserve our fragile coastal economy and ecosystem. Thousands of dollars in federal investment and programs are at stake in this ASMFC decision. Please join me in calling on the ASMFC to follow the best available science and approve a strong plan to restore menhaden abundance and the health of our East Coast marine ecosystem and coastal fishing economies.
If you would like to sign the letter below to the ASMFC, or if you have any questions, please contact Jim Notter in my office at (202) 225-4016 or at jim.notter@mail.house.gov.
Sincerely,
John P. Sarbanes (MD-03) John Carney (DE)
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Analysis: The letter is incorrect in stating that the menhaden population is “critically low” and that the fishery needs to be rebuilt. The last stock assessment issued by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) declared that the menhaden population was not overfished. The menhaden stock is also currently at its fecundity target, indicating the spawning stock is at a healthy level. However, recent "recruitment" levels (the number of young menhaden in their first year of development) have been generally been at or below average during the period that striped bass have been recovered, the 1990s and up to 2008. This fact is not surprising, however, as these young fish are fulfilling their role as forage for revitalized predator stocks. Increased predation, however, has not threatened any imminent or even near-term collapse of the menhaden stock.
The issue is how big a reduction in fishing effort the Commission will choose. That decision directly effects the bait and reduction harvesters, as well as lobster and crab fishermen, anglers and charterboat operators who rely on bait. The most conservative options could lead to harvest cuts of 37% to 45%, vastly increasing the price of bait. That could put fishermen with already thin margins due to high fuel costs out of business. Nor is it assured that such reductions would increase the number of young menhaden or greatly increase the population. That is because recruitment success is entirely dependent on environmental conditions (wind, tides, weather patterns, and salinity) and predation.
By contrast, the baseline measures the Commission is considering, while still likely to lead to substantial catch controls, will allow coastal fishing communities the ability to adjust and survive. The moderate approach also would provide an opportunity to test whether the harvest rate reductions actually lead to population increases without widespread economic dislocation.