Restoring the Atlantic Fishery: A 50-Year Mission

Mission Overview

Our mission, should you choose to accept it, is to restore the Atlantic Fishery over the next 50 years. The fishery has experienced ongoing decline since the passage of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management and Conservation Act (MSA) 50 years ago and continues to decline today. Therefore, a 50-year timeframe for rebuilding is justified. Coincidentally, the year 2075 aligns with America’s Tricentennial Anniversary.

Mission Impossible? Not Quite.

The opening phrase above is inspired by the 1966-1973 TV series, Mission Impossible. While this mission is not impossible, it poses significant challenges and requires collective effort. Immediate action is imperative; without it, there may be no fishery left to rebuild.

The Role of Forage Fish in Restoration

A healthy fishery depends on an abundance of forage fish, a topic discussed in detail elsewhere on this website (link). Fortunately, menhaden can lead the way in the rebuilding process. The current total annual catch (TAC) limit for menhaden stands at 186,849 metric tons, making it the highest-yielding fish on the Atlantic coast. The proposed TAC revision would release more than 110,000 metric tons of menhaden from harvest in the first year, significantly contributing to the ocean food web and expanding the menhaden population. Each subsequent year, an older and larger spawning population would produce more offspring, supporting a recovering population of predatory fish. As menhaden numbers grow, predatory pressure on herring and mackerel will decrease, allowing their populations to expand and further increase the available food supply. This approach, confirmed as “spot on” by a prominent fishery scientist specializing in population dynamics, faces challenges, particularly with shutting down the reduction facility.

Not all fish are fish-eating (piscivores). Many are bethnivores (Bottom feeding), and they do not have the same issues as their food supply is adequate. NOAA has rebuilt 50 stocks nationwide, and 26 of these sites are in the Atlantic fishery. Of these 26, 19 species are bethnivores;they have an adequate food supply so the traditional rebuilding by reducing harvest works for them.

Economic Considerations

The reduction facility is a $100 million annual business, employing approximately 500 people. By comparison, striped bass fishing in Virginia alone contributed a similar amount to the local economy and supported 1,444 jobs. Across the Atlantic Coast, from Maine to North Carolina, the striped bass fishery supported 107,531 jobs, generated $4.799 billion in income, and had a GDP impact of $7.83 billion (2016 figures). These numbers have suffered due to the recreational fishery’s decline, largely attributed to menhaden over-harvesting.

Recent Developments and Proposed Solutions

At the October 2025 ASMFC Menhaden board meeting, staff recommended a 54% reduction in the TAC for the next three years due to errors in previous stock assessments. This recommendation was not approved; instead, a 20% reduction was adopted, with plans to revisit the issue at the 2026 and 2027 October meetings. Opposition came primarily from the lobster and crab fisheries, which rely on menhaden for bait and have experienced bait price increases following the collapse of the Atlantic herring population (down 95% from 2013-2022). The compromise is likely to further drive up bait prices and insufficiently support menhaden population recovery.

An ideal compromise was submitted by Paul Eidman in written comments (link, p.8): set the menhaden TAC at 75,616 metric tons, allocate 100% to the bait fishery, 0% to the reduction industry, and ban harvesting of Atlantic menhaden for reduction use. Efforts should focus on getting this option approved at the November 2026 ASMFC meeting. This would restore the TAC for the bait industry to 2025 levels and potentially garner support from those in the lobster, crab, and bait fisheries. Although an option to phase in the 54% TAC cut over three years was defeated by an 11-7 vote, only three votes need to change to secure approval, assuming the seven supporting votes remain consistent.

First Year Objectives and Next Steps

In summary, the goal for the first year is to implement these changes, a major step toward halting population declines and initiating recovery. The following sections will address the subsequent phases of this mission.

Scope of the Problem

The geographical scope of the problem is the Atlantic fishery, from Maine to Florida. Biologically, it includes the piscivores (fish-eating) and the forage fish on which they feed.

It is a very complicated and fluid system, and I have had problems putting this website together. I have just too much information that I felt should be shared. The main theme, to restore the Atlantic fishery, includes this topic and runs from through “Managing the Rebuilding”. Following that are other topics that are supportive on the main theme. Under “The Fish” are details about specific species. I would also appreciate any comments.