Pew Comments on Managing Menhaden for Its Ecological Role (PDF)
Pew Comments on Managing Menhaden for Its Ecological Role
The Pew Charitable Trusts submitted comments Oct. 24 to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in support of Option E, which relies on the best available science to guide management of menhaden, a critical forage fish species. The goal is to maintain the menhaden population at a level that provides enough food to predators while supporting a sustainable commercial fishery.
Members of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which sets rules for fishing in state waters along the Eastern Seaboard, will gather Nov. 13 to vote on how to manage menhaden, one of the Atlantic Ocean’s most important prey fish. In the waters off the East Coast, Atlantic menhaden feeds nearly every commercial and recreational species of fish, as well as marine mammals such as humpback whales and dolphins and many at-risk seabirds, including ospreys, bald eagles, and common loons.
