February 3, 2021 — On Monday several organizations who are part of the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition submitted a letter to Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Menhaden Board Chair A.G. “Spud” Woodward. The letter called for the Commission to consider, as part of its decision-making, the “importance of historic landings records and the impacts to the fishing industry of the recently implemented ecosystem-based management.”
The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition is asking that the review process be guided by three principles:
1.The Management Board should ensure that the full amount of sustainable yield set for this year and next is able to be harvested.
2. Understanding that the total allowable catch for 2021 and 2022 is lower than total landings for 2019 (and, likely 2020), any reallocation scheme should recnogie states that have already contributed to menhaden conservation since the TAC was first established in 2012.
3. The conservation burden of the TAC reduction must be fairly and equitably distributed among states.