Torn between protecting fish or fishing jobs, East Coast fishery managers have ordered a 20% cut in the commercial harvest of menhaden in the Atlantic to help struggling striped bass. They also moved to curb the menhaden catch in the Chesapeake Bay — though in that case to help beleaguered bait fishermen in Maryland.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which regulates near-shore harvests of migratory fish, voted Oct. 28 to lower the allowable menhaden catch along the East Coast to 185,840 metric tons for 2026. The action came after a new study found the crucial forage fish were much less abundant than previously believed.
The commission’s decision to curtail the coastal menhaden harvest effectively reverses a 20% increase approved just three years ago. At that time, a study concluded that menhaden were not being overfished and would not be harmed by a boost in harvest. A recent reassessment, though, concluded that that earlier study was flawed and that menhaden are actually about a third less plentiful than thought.
Though the new assessment found menhaden still not overfished, the commission is also committed to leaving enough menhaden unharvested to sustain other fish and wildlife. On that basis, the new study indicated that commercial menhaden harvests would need to be reduced to ensure sufficient food for the striped bass population, which the commission is trying to rebuild from having been overfished in recent years.
The commission considered but rejected proposals to cut the coastwide commercial menhaden harvest in half, either all at once or in phases over the next three years.
Conservationists and recreational fishing groups had lobbied for cuts of that magnitude, arguing they were based on the latest science and needed to ensure the recovery of striped bass.
But cuts that large drew pushback from the New England lobster industry, which relies on menhaden for bait, as well as the owners and crews of Ocean Harvesters, the Virginia-based fishing fleet that harvests menhaden for processing into animal feed and health supplements. They warned that their livelihoods would be jeopardized by such drastic reductions.
The commission considered but rejected proposals to cut the coastwide commercial menhaden harvest in half, either all at once or in phases over the next three years.
Conservationists and recreational fishing groups had lobbied for cuts of that magnitude, arguing they were based on the latest science and needed to ensure the recovery of striped bass.
But cuts that large drew pushback from the New England lobster industry, which relies on menhaden for bait, as well as the owners and crews of Ocean Harvesters, the Virginia-based fishing fleet that harvests menhaden for processing into animal feed and health supplements. They warned that their livelihoods would be jeopardized by such drastic reductions.
Representatives of the menhaden reduction fishery, meanwhile, said a 20% cut was unnecessary to avoid impacting other species. They argued that a “modest, precautionary trim” of 10% would eliminate any risk of overfishing.
After the vote, Ocean Harvesters issued a statement saying the 20% harvest cut will likely require some “operational adjustments” at the Reedville facility and warned that any additional reductions “would impose needless harm on working families and a 150-year-old fishery, without ecological justification.”
After finding 37% less Menhaden than they previously thought, a mere 20% cut is an admission that they really don't intend to solve the problem. Ultimately it will be just another fishing stock ruined by overfishing.
The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: It’s Always Warm & Sunny Somewhere up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.
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