At the Bay Journal, Commission sets lower limits on Chesapeake Bay menhaden harvest:
Facing mounting pressure to protect struggling ospreys and Maryland watermen, East Coast fishery managers reached a “compromise” to reduce the commercial menhaden harvest in the Chesapeake Bay.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted Nov. 11 in Newport, RI, to limit industrial-scale menhaden harvest in the Bay to about 21% of the species’ total East Coast catch for the next two years. For 2027, the maximum harvest would be 27% lower than the longstanding cap. The allowable catch would be lowered again in 2028.
Overall, the move will reduce the current Bay cap of 51,000 metric tons per year to 33,847 in 2028.
The decision capped nearly two years of impassioned debate pitting conservationists and recreational anglers against employees and supporters of the Virginia industry that “reduces,” or processes, menhaden into fish meal and oil.
It's about time.
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