Shallow Water Angler
February/March 2005

Conservation Section

Anglers Call for Limits on Chesapeake Menhaden Harvest

"Menhaden Matter" is the well-chosen name of a new cooperative effort to protect Atlantic menhaden from uncontrolled industrial harvesting in Chesapeake Bay. In a "coming out" report, the group concludes that the menhaden's important ecological roles in Chesapeake Bay are at risk because a single company, operating out of Reedville, Virginia, takes more than 100,000 metric tons annually from the bay and surrounding coastal waters.

Comprised of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Coastal Conservation Association, Environmental Defense and the National Coalition for Marine Conservation, Menhaden Matter has called upon the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to take immediate, common sense measure to reduce the harvest in the bay.

The state of Maryland has closed its portion of the Chesapeake bay to the industrialized harvest of menhaden, but there are currently no limits in place on the Virginia side to ensure that menhaden populations remain at healthy levels. Last year, marine conservationists in Virginia tried and failed to get the state legislature to relinquish control to the state's Marine Resources Coommission.

Menhaden are principal filter feeders in the bay, second only to oysters, which have bee sorely depleted. The forage fish are also a primary food source for many popular sport and commercial fish, including striped bass. The Menhaden Matter report found, however, that the overall numbers of menhaden, including its juvenile population, are at near historic lows and that predators such as striped bass are showing signs of stress and developing lesions that may be symptoms of malnutrition. The report also stated that the lack of menhaden could affect populations of seabirds, such as loons and ospreys.

"Taken alone each indicator may not be enough for managers to act, but collectively they paint a compelling picture of a food web starved by lack of forage fish. It suggests we no longer have the luxury of catch limits on an ecologically critical species in the Chesapeake Bay." said Bill Goldsborough, senior scientist for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Despite the group's please for quick action, the ASMFC, at a meeting in November, failed to pass even a cap on the harvest, which would have at least held it at current levels. The commission instead "charged its technical committee to address outstanding issues associated with the ecological role of menhaden in Chesapeake Bay and the feasibility of incorporating ecosystems-based management approaches into the menhaden plan.

Although considered a good first step by representatives of Menhaden Matter, a preliminary report from the technical committee isn't due until August 2005, and the entire process could take two, three or even four years. In the meantime, conservationists will continue to petition for preliminary measures to control the harvest.

For more information, or a complet copy of the report from Menhaden Matter, visit www.menhadenmatter.org. A copy of the ASMFC report based on the October workshop is at www.asmfc.org.

Article courtesy of Shallow Water Angler

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