July 13, 2021 — On 5 August, 2020, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission adopted ecological reference points (ERPs) for Atlantic menhaden, changing how the stock’s quota was managed.
The move meant that quota determinations for menhaden – a forage species for a variety of ocean predators on the Atlantic coast of the U.S. – would be based on ERPs. The final quota decision will now be made based on the availability of the stock, and on the influence it has on the predatory species that consume menhaden as a primary food source.