Saving Seafood

Menhaden Fisheries Coalition Responds to Claims of ‘Environmental Collateral Damage’ from Mission Blue – Sylvia Earle Alliance

January 29, 2015 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

A recent post from Mission Blue – Sylvia Earle Alliance (“Chesapeake Bay Suffers from Menhaden Reduction Industry”) makes several claims about the Atlantic menhaden fishery, most notably that the fishery, particularly in the Chesapeake Bay, is responsible for “environmental collateral damage.” The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition disputes this categorization, as based on the most recent assessments conducted on the menhaden stock, there is little evidence that the menhaden fishery is negatively impacting the health of the species.

Mission Blue claims that menhaden are the only species “managed directly by Virginia’s General Assembly,” and implies that menhaden are managed according to political, rather than scientific, considerations. But menhaden harvest levels are not set by the Virginia General Assembly. Instead, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), an interstate scientific and management body, is responsible for setting menhaden quotas according to the latest menhaden science and stock assessments. The General Assembly, while approving and implementing the quotas within Virginia borders, do not determine what harvest levels are appropriate, and do not act contrary to the ASMFC’s scientific advice.

According to the ASMFC’s most recent 2015 stock assessment, Atlantic menhaden are neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing, meaning that the fishery is not significantly impacting the long-term viability of the resource. In 2015, the ASMFC even raised the coastwide menhaden quota by 10 percent, in recognition of the fishery’s sustainability. The 2015 stock assessment contains other indicators that point to the fishery being sustainable. Fishing mortality is near an all-time low. The reduction fishery is smaller and having less of an impact on the menhaden stock than at any point in its history. Fecundity is near an all-time high.

Fecundity is a particularly important measurement, as it may be one of the best metrics available to predict the future health of the stock. As the ASMFC has acknowledged, the size of the menhaden population does not have a discernible impact on the number of menhaden that actually spawn, with environmental conditions being a far better indicator than fishing for whether or not future menhaden year classes will be large enough to sustain the resource.

According to the ASMFC, “the stock-recruitment relationship observed to date is weak at best,” and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science states that “environmental conditions are likely more important than the size of spawning stock in determining reproductive success.” Ensuring that the stock is producing enough eggs—as is currently the case—is thus the best tool fisheries managers have to influence future menhaden stock size.

Considering that the Atlantic menhaden reduction fishery is smaller than at any point in its history, and is currently abiding by the scientifically determined catch levels set by interstate fisheries managers, the Menhaden Coalition finds that there is little to support the claim of “environmental collateral damage.” Evidence instead points to the fishery being responsibly and sustainably managed.

Supplemental Materials Now Available for ASMFC’s 2016 Winter Meeting

January 27, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Supplemental meeting materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2016 Winter Meeting have been posted at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2016-winter-meeting for the following Boards/Sections (click on “Supplemental” following each relevant committee header to access the information). 

American Lobster Management Board – Preliminary Results of Claw Removal and its Impacts on Survivorship and Physiological Stress in Jonah crab (Cancer borealis) in New England Waters; NEFMC Correspondence on Jonah Crab Permit Holders; Jonah Crab Plan Review Team FMP Implementation Memo; MaineJonah Crab FMP Implementation Program

Atlantic Herring Section – Revised Draft Amendment 3 (please note this version has been revised from January 21st draft); Public Hearing Summary; Written Comment (Summary and Submitted Comments); Advisory Panel Meeting Summary

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board – Draft Addendum XXVII Public Hearing Summaries; Written Comment (Summary and Submitted Comments); Law Enforcement Committee Comments; General Public Comment

ACCSP Executive Committee (please note meeting materials are available through the main header not supplemental) – Draft Minutes from December 17, 2015; Draft Standard Operating Procedures; 2016 Meetings Calendar 

ACCSP Coordinating Council (please note meeting materials are available through the main header not supplemental) – Draft Minutes from November 2, 2015

Executive Committee (please note these materials are the same as those provided for the ISFMP Policy Board) – Memo on Changes to Commission Guidance Documents; Draft ISFMP Charter; Draft Compact, Rules and Regulations; Draft Technical Support Group Guidance and Benchmark Assessment Process

Atlantic Menhaden Management Board – Law Enforcement Committee Report on Maryland and Potomac River Fisheries Commission Equivalency Proposals; Public Comment

Atlantic Sturgeon Management Board – 2016 FMP Review

Horseshoe Crab Management Board – Adaptive Resource Management Subcommittee Meeting Summary

Tautog Management Board – Decision Document for Draft Amendment 1; Law Enforcement Committee Report on Commercial Harvest Tagging Program Objectives 

Winter Flounder Management Board – NEFMC Presentation on Overview of Federal Management Measures for Gulf of Maine and Southern New England/ Mid-Atlantic Stocks; Scientific and Statistical Committee Report

American Eel Management Board – Advisory Panel Report and Technical Committee Review  on North Carolina’s Aquaculture Plan; Final version of North Carolina’s Aquaculture Plan; Public Comment

ISFMP Policy Board (please note these materials are the same as those provided for Executive Committee) – Memo on Changes to Commission Guidance Documents; Draft ISFMP Charter; Draft Compact, Rules and Regulations; Draft Technical Support Group Guidance and Benchmark Assessment Process

As a reminder, Board/Section meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning at 9:00 a.m. on February 2nd and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 3:45 p.m.) on February 4th. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board/section deliberations and view presentations and motions as they occur. No comments or questions will be accepted via the webinar. Should technical difficulties arise while streaming the broadcast, the boards/sections will continue their deliberations without interruption. We will attempt to resume the broadcast as soon as possible. To register for the webinar, please go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/86228471613051649.

Sunken sanctuary: Former Omega Protein WWII-era vessel becomes artificial reef

December 15, 2015 — For much of the last decade, the MV Shearwater caught menhaden by the ton but in its new life, as part of the Del-Jersey-Land reef 26-miles off the coast, it will become a fish habitat and diving destination in the state’s artificial reef program.

The ship didn’t go easy into the deep last week. The stern sank first and the ship started to turn leaving just the bow out of the water. It took about six hours to fully sink after the seacocks opened and the interior compartments flooded.

The 176-foot-long vessel went down in 120 feet of water. It lays about one-half nautical mile from the 568-foot long USS Arthur W. Radford, a former Navy destroyer. The Radford was sunk at the artificial reef site in 2011 and has become a popular destination for divers and anglers.

“About three weeks ago, a state-record bluefish was caught there,” said Jeff Tinsman, the state artificial reef coordinator.

“These old freighters make ideal reefs because of the voids and cavities in them – they’re really the perfect sanctuary for fish,” Tinsman said. “But not long after this ship sinks, the fish will start to come ‘outside’ it to feed. Within a few weeks, blue mussels, sponges, barnacles and soft corals will attach themselves to the structure, and in about a year, the reef will be fully productive, for fish and fishermen alike.”

Read the full story at Delaware Online

Bay anchovies appear to be more important than menhaden in predators’ diets

December 7, 2015 — The Chesapeake Bay may be the best-studied estuary in the world, but a group of scientists attending a recent workshop were surprised about how little they knew about what predatory fish eat.

After all, menhaden — dubbed by some as the “most important fish in the sea” would also be the “most important” fish in the Bay, right?

Apparently not. That honor, were one species to be singled out, might belong to the tiny bay anchovy — a fish that rarely grows more than 3–4 inches in length and typically doesn’t live longer than a year.

“They’re the most abundant fish in the Bay,” said Ed Houde, a fisheries scientist with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, who helped organize the workshop. “They’re really important in the Bay’s food web.”

An analysis of 12 years of Baywide diet information for five major predators prepared for the workshop found that bay anchovy was a significant portion of the diet for four of those species. Menhaden was important for only one, striped bass, and even for them, bay anchovy were more important.

“Menhaden came out not as high on the list as people thought it was going to be,” Houde said. “It was an important prey, but it certainly wasn’t in the top three or four.”

Even more significantly, the analysis showed that the Bay’s food web is less of a fish-eat-fish world than popularly thought, even among many scientists. A host of unheralded species, from worms to clams to crustaceans, are major food sources for the Chesapeake’s predatory fish.

Read the full story at Bay Journal

 

PETER HIMCHAK: Chesapeake Bay Defense Foundation Gets it Wrong on Menhaden

December 11, 2015 — The following is a commentary by Peter Himchak, Senior Fisheries Scientist for Omega Protein, a member of the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition. Mr. Himchak served for 39 years as a fisheries biologist for the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, and served on advisory and management boards for both the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC). He served on the ASMFC’s Atlantic Menhaden Technical Committee and Stock Assessment Sub-Committee from 1988 until 2006:

A recent Virginian-Pilot op-ed by Chesapeake Bay Defense Foundation (CBDF) Director of Public Affairs William Tabor (“A tragedy of the Chesapeake,” 11/29) contains a deeply flawed and scientifically inaccurate take on the menhaden fishery in the Chesapeake Bay. These inaccuracies illustrate that this recently-formed organization may not have a great understanding of the menhaden fishery or basic fisheries biology. The menhaden fishery, rather than being an example of “market aggression” and “licensed plunder,” as CBDF states, is, according to all available evidence, both responsibly regulated environmentally sustainable.

Many of CBDF’s claims about the local impact of the menhaden fishery are simply not supported by the best and most current science on menhaden. CBDF advocates for banning purse seine fishing for menhaden in Virginia state waters largely over fears of localized depletion—that the menhaden fishery is taking too many menhaden from the Chesapeake Bay. But there is currently no scientific evidence that localized depletion is occurring.

Menhaden are a highly migratory species that travel to inshore and near-shore waters up and down the Atlantic coast. Nowhere has an incidence of localized depletion ever been recorded or confirmed, and many believe that the phenomenon may not even exist. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), acting out of an abundance of caution and not a scientific mandate, has already imposed a cap on how much menhaden can be harvested from the Chesapeake Bay.

Fears that that the menhaden fishery is not leaving enough food for predator species is similarly overblown. Species like striped bass and bluefish generally target younger menhaden, age 1 and under. This is a segment of the menhaden population that is not directly targeted by the fishery, which mostly harvests menhaden age 2 and older. Based on stock assessment reports and the Beaufort Assessment Model, from 2004-2013, the menhaden fishery only harvested around 3.35% of the total menhaden population. The overwhelming majority of the remaining population is consumed by predator species coastwide, and the fishery does not represent a significant threat to the coastal supply of forage.

Menhaden also do not, as CBDF claims, contribute significantly to removing the “excess algae and nutrients that clog the Bay.” As several scientific papers have confirmed, menhaden are opportunistic feeders, consuming both the phytoplankton that leads to algal blooms as well as zooplankton. However, phytoplankton is consumed primarily by younger menhaden, which are not targeted by the fishery, and represent only a small fraction of the overall harvest.

The environmental impacts of the menhaden boats and purse seine nets themselves are also greatly overstated by the op-ed. CBDF cites fears of bycatch and damage to the environment as more reasons Virginia should ban purse seining in its waters. But, because they target densely packed schools of menhaden, purse seine nets are some of the most efficient methods of harvesting fish, and bycatch from these efforts are minimal. The ASMFC acknowledged in its 2010 assessment that “it is suspected that bycatch and discards of menhaden are trivial compared to total landings.”

Purse seine nets also do not frequently interact with the seafloor, and are not a significant threat to the Bay’s corals, grass beds, or oysters. And while the op-ed is concerned with the effect of water discharge from menhaden boats, any effects from this discharge are localized, and temporary. These boats also operate with the approval of relevant regulators. Compared to the widespread and long-lasting dead zones that regularly afflict the Bay, water discharge from a handful of menhaden vessels does not represent a significant, long-term environmental threat.

The menhaden fishery is already managed according to the best available science and management practices. Virginia’s quota is set in accordance with maintaining the sustainability of the stock, and fisheries science confirms that the Chesapeake-based menhaden fleet does not have a serious negative impact on the health of either the Bay or the local menhaden population. A ban on purse seining in Virginia state waters would be both unnecessary and ineffective.

 

ASMFC Seeks Proposals for a Socioeconomic Study on Atlantic Menhaden Commercial Fisheries

November 29, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC):

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is soliciting proposals from research teams to conduct a socioeconomic study of Atlantic menhaden commercial fisheries. The study, expected to begin in February 2016, is intended to characterize the coastwide commercial fisheries, including bait and reduction sectors and the fishing communities they support. Funding for the project has been provided through a cooperative agreement with NOAA Fisheries. Approximately $80,000 will be available to fund the study.

“We anticipate this project will be key to assisting the Board with future decisions on the management of the menhaden resource,” stated Robert Boyles, Chair of the Commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board. “As such, we are hopeful state agencies and stakeholders will fully and openly participate in the collection of new socioeconomic information. The Board will incorporate the products of the study as it moves forward with the development of Draft Amendment 3 in 2017.”

The primary objective of the study is to provide socioeconomic information to better understand the impacts of potential changes to the management of Atlantic menhaden commercial bait and reduction fisheries. The project will identify individuals, families, firms, organizations, and communities to better characterize the menhaden fisheries and their stakeholders. The study will also gather both primary and secondary information from stakeholders and state agencies on the fisheries (e.g., landings, value, participation, capacity utilization, fixed costs) and market (e.g., retailers/wholesalers, clients/purchasers, number/types of employees) to more thoroughly evaluate the socioeconomic value of Atlantic menhaden.

The research deliverables were identified by the Commission’s Committee on Economics and Social Sciences (CESS) using the general framework from a previous menhaden socioeconomic study conducted in the Chesapeake Bay region by Kirkley and colleagues in 2011. CESS also worked closely with the Atlantic Menhaden Board Allocation Workgroup to address research needs.

“We are excited the Commission was able to secure funding for this in-depth study of the menhaden fishery,” said Madeleine Hall-Arber, CESS Chair. “The effort represents a new direction for the Commission to provide detailed socioeconomic information to help managers better understand management impacts. Similar resources are needed to support socioeconomic studies in other fisheries along the Atlantic Coast.

A full list of the anticipated project deliverables can be found within the Request for Proposals at http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/565b56a0MenhadenRFP_Nov2015.pdf. Proposals should be submitted to Shanna Madsen (smadsen@asmfc.org) by 5 p.m. EST, January 4th, 2016. For more information, please contact Shanna Madsen, Fisheries Science Coordinator, at smadsen@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Read the release from the ASMFC

VIRGINIA: Special Investigation: Big fight over little fish

November 12, 2015 — REEDVILLE, Va. – Small business owners along the Chesapeake Bay are concerned that commercial fishing by Omega Protein is hurting their livelihood. Both rely on catching menhaden, a small bony fish that is valuable to Omega for its oil and bone meal, as well as for bait to charter boat captains and crabbers.

Omega has fished for menhaden out of Reedville since the 1870’s. It hauls in millions of them each weekday during a fishing season that is quota-based and runs roughly from May to November.

10 On Your Side visited the Reedville operation and spoke with several employees about the company’s importance to the community. We also met with a charter boat captain who is convinced that Omega’s large hauls are hurting his business along with hundreds of others – marinas, crabbers, tackles shops, etc.

“Used to be these creeks would just be chocked full of menhaden flipping all over the surface,” said Chris Newsome, owner of Bay Fly Fishing in Gloucester. Newsome’s charter clients fish for striped bass, bluefish, speckled trout and redfish, and they feed on menhaden. “They’ve definitely become a lot harder to find over the years.”

Read the full story at WAVY

Douglas Grout Elected New ASMFC Chair

November 4, 2015 — ST. AUGUSTINE, Fl. – The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Today, member states of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission acknowledged the many accomplishments of outgoing Chair, Dr. Louis B. Daniel of North Carolina and elected Douglas Grout as its new Chair.

In assuming the chairmanship, Mr. Grout spoke enthusiastically about his new position, “I am honored to be elected by my colleagues from the 15 Atlantic coast states, and pledge to uphold the trust they have placed in me as I serve my term chairing the Commission.  Under my watch, I will work to lead the Commission responsibly through the many challenges inherent in managing our nation’s coastal fisheries.  I look forward to working closely with the Commission’s management partners and will ensure the voices of our many stakeholders are heard.” 

“My predecessor, Louis Daniel, has cemented his legacy as a champion of marine fisheries and a role model to those they support by guiding the Commission through two productive years that included major management decisions for two of the Atlantic coast’s most iconic species, Atlantic striped bass and Atlantic menhaden. Evidenced by the fact that a record number of Commission-managed fisheries are thriving, Louis never backed away from making tough decisions and always did what he believed to be the right thing.  Under his leadership, the Commission transitioned smoothly through a period of major staff turnover, avoided an Endangered Species Act listing of American eel, and completed numerous benchmark stock assessments. In a tough fiscal environment, he also fought to provide the states with the resources they needed to get the job done.”

Mr. Grout currently serves as the Chief of the Marine Fisheries Division of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department where he has worked for over 30 years. He has been actively involved in the Commission process for many years, beginning in 1988 serving on the Management and Science Committee and numerous species technical committees. He received the Commission’s Award of Excellence in the Scientific/Technical/Advisory category in 2005. As a Commissioner, he has chaired the Northern Shrimp Section, the American Lobster Board, and most recently, the Atlantic Striped Bass Board. Mr. Grout received his M.S. and B.S. in Zoology from the University of New Hampshire and is an American Fisheries Society Certified Fisheries Scientist.

The Commission also elected James Gilmore from New York as its Vice-Chair.             

‘Ghost fleet’ offers treasure trove of wildlife, history in the Potomac

November 2, 2015 — NANJEMOY, Md. — Hidden beneath the waters of the Potomac River are dozens of sunken ships known as a “ghost fleet” that sailed from the Revolutionary War to after World War I, and now, thanks to the Chesapeake Conservancy, the public can experience these underwater ships and the unique ecosystem that has grown around them from their desktops.

The conservancy has teamed up with Terrain360, a Richmond, Virginia, company, to take panoramic shots of Mallows Bay and the more than 100 shipwrecks located there, piecing them together to create a virtual tour of the bay that you can find here.

The bay, tucked along the shores of the Potomac River in Charles County, Maryland, is home to the largest collection of historic shipwrecks in the Western Hemisphere. But the sunken ships have also created a marine habitat full of fish, birds and other wildlife, which the conservancy hopes to protect.

Visitors to the bay will spot an engine rising from the mist. Trees growing from the hull of a sunken ship seem to form an island that’s shaped like a ship. And the rusty hull of another ship can be seen rising above the waterline further out from the shore. Nearby is a menhaden fishing boat dating to the 1940s that was used during World War II.

Read the full story at WTOP

 

NOAA’s Update of ‘Menhaden Facts’ Webpage Confirms Sustainable Menhaden Fishery

WASHINGTON (Menhaden Fisheries Coalition) — October 5, 2015 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

NOAA Fisheries’ Chesapeake Bay Office has updated its “Menhaden Facts” webpage, confirming the sustainability of the Atlantic menhaden fishery, and stating clearly that Atlantic menhaden is neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing. The update is based upon the most current menhaden benchmark stock assessment, released in early 2015.

The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition credits the stock’s natural resilience for these positive indicators. Years of diligent work by state and federal scientists produced the 2015 Atlantic menhaden stock assessment, considered the most thorough and accurate in the history of the fishery. Its results differ sharply from the prior update assessment, released in 2012, which was broadly criticized for mathematical flaws that underestimated the species’ health.

The results of the 2012 assessment were used as justification for a sweeping 20 percent coastwide harvest cut. As it did then, and now with the support of the 2015 stock assessment, the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition questions the legitimacy of this harvest cut.

Fisheries managers have now affirmed what the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition has long maintained. In January, the latest menhaden stock assessment found that menhaden were in fact being harvested sustainably, with positive indicators such as record low levels of fishing mortality and near-record levels of stock fecundity. In June, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) acted on this news and increased harvests by 10 percent, partially reversing the 2012 cut. And last month, NOAA updated its official menhaden page to reflect these changes.

Both agencies-NOAA and the ASMFC-have now officially declared the species to be sustainably harvested and managed. The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition is committed to continuing that sustainability into the future.

About the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition

The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition is a collective of menhaden fisherman, related businesses, and supporting industries. Comprised of over 30 businesses along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition conducts media and public outreach on behalf of the menhaden industry to ensure that members of the public, media, and government are informed of important issues, events, and facts about the fishery.

View a PDF of the release from the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition