The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) announced a 20% reduction in the 2026 Atlantic menhaden quota on October 28, setting the total allowable catch at 186,840 metric tons, down from 233,550 metric tons in 2025.
The commission based its decision on several considerations:
- Ecological reference points including fishing mortality rates and striped bass interactions
- Lower estimated menhaden fecundity
- Predator biomass targets
Fishing organizations expressed concern over the cuts’ economic impact. The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition had advocated for a more modest 15% reduction, noting that the stock remains healthy with no overfishing occurring.
“Even this lesser 20 percent reduction will have troubling effects on working fishermen, bait suppliers, and the lobster and crab fisheries that depend on menhaden,” said Dustin Delano, Chair of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association, who argued that even a 10% cut would maintain low overfishing risk.
The Maine Lobstermen’s Association acknowledged that while any cut impacts their fishery, the 20% reduction was preferable to the 55% cuts some groups had proposed.
Environmental Perspective
Conservation groups criticized the decision as insufficient. Both the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership had called for cuts exceeding 50% to protect the ecosystem and help rebuild other species populations.
“The board’s decision makes it more challenging to achieve striped bass recovery by 2029,” said Chris Macaluso of TRCP, adding that the decision “undermines public trust in the process.”
Will Poston of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation dismissed the 20% cut as “nothing more than a performative nod” to ecosystem-based management, warning of risks to both menhaden and dependent businesses.
The decision reflects ongoing tensions between economic and ecological concerns in fisheries management, with the commission’s ecosystem-based approach, adopted in 2020, continuing to generate debate about appropriate conservation measures.
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Good overview and clear summary. Do you know if the commission provided regional breakdowns of the quota cuts and how those will be allocated among states? Curious how local bait suppliers and lobstermen will be compensated or supported if catches drop.
Kinda’ on a different note: Also curious about how Eastville will be compensated or supported if catches drop.