December 20, 2012 — Environmental groups were successful in their battle to achieve a significant reduction in the menhaden catch last Friday in Baltimore. After a year of standing on the soap box and asking interstate fishery management bodies to protect the fish, they watched, along with thousands of recreational fishermen from Maine to Florida, as the Atlantic Menhaden Management Board adopted a 20 percent coastwide reduction in the harvest.
The reduction is based on the average menhaden catch landings from 2009-2011.
It was the first time any catch limits were ever placed on menhaden — or bunker as many call them.
“They’ve always kind of fallen through the cracks,” said Capt. Paul Eidman, of Reel Therapy.
Eidman said he’s been calling for protection on menhaden since the mid-1980s and he’s hoping now that they have it, the menhaden will thrive.
“They’re resilient fish,” Eidman said.
The Board’s chair, Louis Daniel of North Carolina, went on the record to say they “made a conscious decision to address the ecosystem services provided by Atlantic menhaden.”
Representatives of one of the biggest environmental groups in the country, the Pew Environment Group, were appreciative of the outcome.
“Tens of thousands of people from all walks of life — anglers, business owners, birders, scientists, conservationists, and more — have long been urging this sort of action because they know what menhaden mean for their coastal ecosystem and economy,” said Peter Baker, the director of Pew Environment’s Northeast Fisheries Program.
Pew claimed that menhaden numbers had plummeted by 90 percent in recent years. Which, if accurate, is not a good sign because of the role they play in the ocean food chain. Menhaden turn plankton into fat and protein, and make that energy available to a variety of marine life that, in turn, prey on menhaden.
Read the full story in the Asbury Park Press