June 24, 2016 — FISHING CREEK, Md. — Life is about to possibly get easier for menhaden fisherman in Maryland. Menhaden, a popular bait fish, are regulated by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, or ASMFC. Several years ago, an ASMFC report indicated that the menhaden stock was being overfished. However, a report that came out a year ago showed that the fishery was in fact strong. The ASMFC is now undoing some of the regulations it passed to protect the species.
It has been years since the ASMFC said that menhaden over fishing was occurring. One lawsuit and several years later, watermen are still feeling the effects of the regulations put in place to protect the species.
“When they cut us 20 percent, some of our buyers went to alternative bait like razor clams and the price of bait went up. They went somewhere else so it has really hurt our industry. We can’t sell as much as we were before,” said Boo Powley, a fifth generation waterman.