This week, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) voted 11-7 to reduce the total allowable catch of Atlantic menhaden by a meager 9% in 2027 and another 9% in 2028, a far cry from the 39% reduction needed to have a 50% chance of meeting the ecosystem target. This action comes just a year after the Commission’s decision to punt on meaningful reductions at their meeting last fall.
Menhaden, a small, oily baitfish also known as pogy or bunker, is the primary food source for some of the most culturally and economically important recreational fisheries in the Atlantic, including striped bass, red drum, bluefish and cobia. According to a 2019 study, the Atlantic recreational striped bass fishery alone contributed $7.7 billion to the U.S. GDP and supported over 107,000 jobs.
“Again, the Commission chose not to follow their own science. The flexibility offered within the menhaden fishery management plan allows too much discretion when setting menhaden quota levels consistent with ecosystem targets,” said Mike Waine, Atlantic fisheries policy director for the American Sportfishing Association.
At the meeting, states who voted against the needed cuts cited concerns over economic harm. However, states like Virginia underperformed their quota by more than 40% in 2025 due to a lack of menhaden availability, making the 9% reductions a cut on paper only, and calling into question repeated claims that any reduction in quota will equate to job loss.
The Board’s inability to restrict menhaden catch levels to the ecosystem target will have consequences. The Atlantic Menhaden ecosystem target is directly linked to striped bass rebuilding. Specifically, it establishes a menhaden fishing mortality target designed to support striped bass at their biomass target when striped bass fishing mortality is also at its target. Recreational anglers and fishing businesses have endured years of restrictive measures to rebuild striped bass, helping reduce fishing mortality to a 30-year low and well below its target. Yet menhaden fishing mortality has repeatedly exceeded the ecosystem target intended to support those same rebuilding efforts, and the Menhaden Board again declined to adopt harvest reductions consistent with that target.
“If ASMFC is serious about rebuilding striped bass, it’s time to look at adding management triggers to the Atlantic menhaden fishery management plan that would require managing to ecosystem targets,” added Waine. “It’s a double standard that striped bass is at a 30 year low in fishing mortality while menhaden fishing mortality continues to exceed ecosystem target levels with little to no consequence”
In addition to the coastwide quota reduction, the Board also voted to reduce the Chesapeake Bay reduction fishery cap from 27% to 22% (37,123 metric tons in 2027; 33,847 in 2028) of the coastwide quota. Put simply, the maximum amount of menhaden that can be harvested from the Bay by the reduction fishery decreased from roughly one-quarter to one-fifth of the total coastwide quota. Lowering the proportion of fish removed from the Bay by industrial fishing helps address warning signs coming out of Maryland where commercial bait fisheries for menhaden have seen precipitous decline in catch per unit effort. More than 40,000 public comments were submitted in support of further reductions to the Bay cap.
Changes to the coastwide quota and the Chesapeake Bay cap are expected to be implemented in early 2027. ASA and our partners will continue to work closely with the ASMFC and federal agencies to ensure the sportfishing industry and the entire recreational fishing community have a voice in decisions that directly affect our shared fisheries’ resources.
Share This Article, Choose Your Platform:
Recent Posts
AUTHOR
