The most important species are not always the biggest, fastest, or most charismatic. The silvery Atlantic Menhaden usually averages only about 12 to 15 inches in length when it is full grown. But, it’s the massive size of a menhaden school which makes this the most valuable fish you’ve most likely never heard of. Menhaden are among the most important forage species along the Atlantic seaboard and a vital food source for dozens of other species.

For decades the menhaden harvest was among the highest catch in tons of any fishery in the nation, and gross overfishing was a strong concern among other fishermen who understand the menhaden’s valuable role as a forage fish. But this isn’t the first time that menhaden have been in the news or that efforts have been tried to establish a more sustainable fishing level. In a landmark move last year, East Coast fishery managers—responding to a plea for action by more than 90,000 people —committed to advancing new protections for Atlantic menhaden. Now is the time to make sure these plans become real improvements on the water.

Right now we need your help in sending the message that Menhaden need better management! Send a message before Nov. 16^th!

Menhaden populations have plummeted 90 percent over the past 25 years and remain at an all-time low—just 10 percent of historic levels. Because these small fish are prey for larger animals, this decline threatens to disrupt coastal and marine food webs and affect the thousands of fishing, whale-watching, and bird-watching businesses that menhaden help support.

We need to leave more menhaden in the ocean to promote their recovery. There is no limit on the total amount of these fish that can be caught at sea. Every year, hundreds of millions of them are ground up to make fertilizer; fish meal for farm animals, pets, and aquaculture; and oil for dietary supplements.

On Dec. 14, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will make decisions that are critical to the recovery of Atlantic menhaden and the ocean wildlife that depends on them for food. Let the commission know that it’s time to bring the menhaden fishery into the 21^st century.

Please take a few minutes to send a letter to the Atlantic States Fisheries Commission before Nov. 16^th!

Or you can do the right thing by writing a letter to Dr. Louis Daniel, vice chair, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission via the ASMFC staff and urge them to:

• Set an enforceable catch limit;
• Reduce the overall amount caught each year; and,
• Follow-through on commitments to restore the menhaden population.

Thank You for your help – now pass it along to your friends!

Atlantic Menhaden are small but vital for a healthy ocean ecosystem

November 7 – Small Fish, Big Opportunity - Over the past several months, a collection of conservationists, anglers and others have come together to urge federal policymakers to safeguard the array of species that serve as the foundation for a healthy marine ecosystem. And, to their credit, regional fishery managers on both coasts heeded the message these advocates delivered: If we want to protect the oceans, it makes sense to start small.

November 8 – Maine fisherman Terry Alexander works to revive redfish - Terry Alexander is a fourth generation fisherman from Harpswell, Maine. Alexander has teamed up with other fishermen, scientists, and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute to help revive redfish fishing in New England.NOAA’s Monica Allen caught up with Terry Alexander to learn more about the redfish revival and how sector management is working for him.

November 9 – Fish Talk in the News – Friday, November 9th - In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, Hurricane Sandy lowers fish prices in New England; New Jersey fishermen push for a disaster declaration; the battle over menhaden catch limits continues; NEFMC sets a special meeting to discuss groundfish allocations and closed area access; NOAA holds a forum on groundfish science; and the mayor of New Bedford says fishermen have no confidence in stock assessments.

October 23 – All About Aquaculture: Current Status in New England - In the fourth and final post in the All About Aquaculture series, we take a look at current aquaculture research and production in New England and the government agencies involved in the regulation of aquaculture operations.

October 26 – Fish Talk in the News – Friday, October 26 - In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, scientists and environmental groups speak out against a proposed fisheries data confidentiality rule; Carl Safina and Andrew Read argue against a delay for a gillnetting closure; The New York Times discusses the damaging effects of trawling; fishing communities prepare for Hurricane Sandy, a coalition celebrates the removal of a dam in Taunton; a new bill would allow spearfishing for stripers in MA; NMFS proposes more relaxed regulations for dogfish; Ellen Pikitch argues for precautionary, ecosystem-based fisheries management.

October 16 – All About Aquaculture: Environmental Risks and Benefits - This post, the third in the All About Aquaculture series, discusses the environmental risks and benefits inherent in various types of aquaculture practices and the sustainability challenges associated with aquaculture.

October 18 – Murky Waters Make for Poor Fishing - The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has proposed a long-awaited rule regarding confidentiality of information under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). Unfortunately, it would unnecessarily stifle public participation in the management of public trust ocean resources, including depleted fish populations and protected species. The proposed rule would take the unprecedented and unwarranted leap from protecting personal privacies to withholding basic required information.

October 19 – Fish Talk in the News – Friday, October 19 - In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, recreational and commercial fishermen express concerns over opening the closed areas; a new website documents cases of marine ecosystem-based management; SMAST will conduct an independent survey of groundfish stocks; barramundi thrive in New England aquaculture; record warm sea surface temperatures linked to a Gulf Stream shift, and the NSC hesitantly supports catch share accumulation caps.

October 10 – WHOI scientist Sarah Cooley studies the impacts of ocean acidification – Talking Fish interviews Sarah Cooley, a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientist, on the processes behind ocean acidification, its effects on fisheries and other industries, and the future of our oceans.

October 11 – All About Aquaculture: What is aquaculture, anyway? – This post, the second in a series that focuses on aquaculture, discusses the various methods and practices used by fish and shellfish farmers in raising their products.

October 12 – Fish Talk in the News – Friday, October 12 – In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, some fishermen continue to oppose 10-year rebuilding requirements for overfished stocks; a new initiative will help Maine fishermen seeking to enter the groundfish fleet; a dead finback whale creates a challenge in Boston Harbor, John Bullard supports limits on catch share accumulation, cod brings large trawlers to inshore waters; a new article discusses the history and restoration of alewife populations.

October 2 – All About Aquaculture: from 2000 BC in China to Today in the U.S. - This piece is the first in a series that will focus on aquaculture, both world-wide and in New England. Over the next few weeks, the series will explore topics such as the various methods of aquaculture, its environmental and sustainability implications, current aquaculture research and production in New England, and national regulations and sustainability certifications. This first post focuses on aquaculture’s history and its current status as a seafood provider in the United States.

October 3 – The Bottom Line: Historic Moment for Menhaden - By Lee Crockett of the Pew Environment Group. Menhaden numbers have plunged nearly 90 percent over the past 25 years, and the regulators responsible for their management will soon make a critical decision. In December, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission(ASMFC) could finally help the depleted population recover by setting a coastwide, science- based annual catch limit.

October 5 – Fish Talk in the News – Friday, October 5 - In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, fish stocks lacking scientific assessments are severely depleted; community-supported fisheries provide economic opportunity for fishermen; a sustainable seafood festival in Boston; Seacoast Online explores the tension between fishermen and scientists over stock assessments; sharks hurt Cape beach revenues; the History Channel puts the spotlight on New England fishermen; fish are likely to reach smaller sizes due to warming water; ocean acidification threatens ecosystems and fisheries.

September 17 – Booming New England Seal Population Creates a Management Challenge – Congress passed the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) in 1972, forty years ago. Intended to slow the precipitous decline of marine mammal populations due to human activities, the act prohibited the killing, harassment, or excessive disturbance of marine mammals in United States waters. For seals in New England—mainly harbor seals and gray seals—the MMPA’s protections effected a massive boom in population.

September 21 – Illegal and Wrong – Wednesday’s New England Fishery Management Council’s Groundfish Committee meeting was … depressing. As the expression goes, just when I think I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel I realize that it is the headlights of the on-coming bus. Once again, current events—bad as they are—seem about to be exploited to produce an even more dismal future. The topic was throwing open the decades-long fishery closed areas to exploitation again.

September 21 - Fish Talk in the News – Friday, September 21 – In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, the NEFMC Groundfish Committee proposes opening closed areas; blanket shark fin bans may hurt the sustainable dogfish industry; Gloucester fishing personalities comment on warm waters this summer; a NOAA report ranks New Bedford first in the country in fishing revenues; cod stocks move north in response to record-setting warm water temperatures; the scallop quota could take a heavy cut over the next two years due to poor recruitment.

This post was originally published on TalkingFish.org.

Despite its caption, the “Transparent and Science-Based Fishery Management Act of 2012,” H.R. 6350, introduced by U.S. Representative John Runyun of New Jersey just hours before Congress adjourned for summer recess on August 2^nd is a misguided piece of legislation.  It brings political interference and micro-management back into fisheries management, thwarts science-based decisions, costs jobs and any hope of increased prosperity for hundreds of fishing families, eliminates government and fisherman accountability for a public resource, and reverses the painful progress and sacrifice that has been made in recent years to restore many of America’s once-bountiful fisheries.

New England certainly doesn’t need this bill.  All it would do here is to pull fishing families and businesses back into the tar pit of mismanagement and economic and social decline from which they have been struggling to escape for the past two decades. Whatever Representative Runyan’s intentions might be, the only outcome this legislation guarantees is more chaos and productivity losses in this nation’s fisheries.

In 2006, important accountability provisions were introduced into the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and recent reviews of fisheries management indicate that they are working to rebuild fish stocks. Despite this success, Representative Runyun is trying to un-do these provisions. In 2006, 28 % of the nation’s fisheries for which data was available were overfished; in those fisheries with adequate data, 26% of them were subject to overfishing. By June 2012, just one or two years after the new Magnuson measures took effect, 23% remained in an overfished condition and overfishing was down to 17%. Not great after 35 years of federal management but headed the right way. Unfortunately, New England’s fish stocks–the poster child for what happens with “management flexibility”—remained among the worst in the nation.

New England managers have destroyed hundreds of good fishing businesses and plummeted cod populations to levels never seen in history by catering to short term economic interests at the expense of long term profitability.  In the New England groundfish fishery, overfishing and mismanagement have resulted in significant revenue losses. If stocks were at managed at sustainable levels, current groundfish revenues could be three times greater – infusing New England’s economy with nearly $170 million in additional dockside revenues compared to 2010 revenues. In New England, we’ve seen the human and ecological damage caused by ”flexible fishery management.” It doesn’t work. Not for the fish and not for the fishermen..

If Congressman Runyun cared about fisheries, he would lead the charge to secure adequate federal appropriations for better research, better stock assessments, more data, better assessment technology research and development, and innovative gear research by fishermen, not file backward laws. Unfortunately, he appears to be more interested in demagoguery and ideology than he is in solving real fisheries problems. From where I sit, his legislation is a political distraction to the real work that needs to be done —  restoring sustainable fisheries and communities in New England.

July 31 – Local Summer Fisheries – Sea Scallops – In the last post of the Local Summer Fisheries series, read about sea scallops: one of the most valuable fisheries in the United States and a great success story in fisheries management.

August 1 – Bangor Daily News supports returning alewives to the St. Croix – In June, CLF attorney Sean Mahoney blogged about CLF’s lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in an effort to overturn a Maine law that has prevented the alewife, a forage fish crucial to marine and freshwater ecosystems, from accessing its native habitat in Maine’s St. Croix River. This week, the Bangor Daily News published an editorial expressing support for opening up the St. Croix River to alewives.

August 3 – Fish Talk in the News – Friday, August 3 – This week in Fish Talk in the News: expected reductions in catch limits for New England’s groundfish stocks have fishermen and congressmen up in arms; public support for opening the St. Croix River to alewives; an update on the December, 2011 removal of Shorey’s Brook dam in Maine; NOAA fisheries plans to conduct a survey to better understand the social and economic impacts of fishing regulations on the east coast; a new piece of legislation to prevent seafood fraud; the Maine lobster crisis continues, even as the Maine Lobster Festival kicks off in Rockland; Sport Fishing Magazine interviews Obama about his administration’s plans for and achievements in fisheries management; the Gulf of Maine Research Institute releases a study on changing zooplankton abundances in the Gulf of Maine; and the New England Ocean Odyssey blog posts about the Atlantic wolffish.