Fisheries regulators have cut harvest limits for menhaden, a small fish with a big ecological role in the Chesapeake Bay.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has voted to set new fishing limits for menhaden. Menhaden are small, oily fish, and while people don't usually eat them, just about everything else does: eagles, ospreys, striped bass. That's why biologists call them a foundational species. Humans use them for fish oil, bait, and animal feed.
But the fish has reached it's lowest recorded population level ever, at roughly 8 percent of what it would be if humans weren't fishing for it. So the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted to cut the annual harvest by 37 percent, and set a new population target.
Out of 14 states, only New Jersey and Virginia voted against raising long term population targets. One of the country's largest menhaden processing plants is located in Reedville, Va. in the Northern Neck.
Analysis: The report's claim that the menhaden population is "roughly 8 percent of what it would be if humans weren't fishing for it" is misleading. Menhaden are currently fished to around 8 percent of their Maximum Spawning Potential (MSP), which is an estimate of a theoretical unfished population. An 8 percent MSP is not by itself an indication of overfishing; menhaden MSP has rarely risen above 10 percent in the past 50 years, and at that level the population has traditionally been able to rebuild itself. Levels of MSP also show little correlation to levels of menhaden recruitment. At the current levels of fishing, the menhaden population is judged to be not overfished by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.