ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Menhaden Management Board (MMB) of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has taken a significant step towards more sustainable fishing practices in the Chesapeake Bay. The board voted unanimously to establish a workgroup tasked with exploring precautionary management options for the Bay’s industrial menhaden fishery. These options may include time and area closures to protect the diets of seabirds and fish at crucial stages of their life cycles.
The initiative, put forward by Allison Colden, Maryland’s executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and a member of the Maryland ASMFC delegation, aims to alleviate pressure on ospreys and other predators that rely on menhaden—a small but ecologically important fish—for survival. “We’re seeing some major ecological red flags in the Chesapeake Bay,” Colden said. “From struggling osprey populations to dismal menhaden bait landings, it’s clear that additional precautions are needed.”
The workgroup, which will be organized in the coming weeks, will begin by evaluating the current impact of the menhaden fishery on the Bay’s ecosystem and proposing potential sustainable management measures for the ASMFC to consider. Conservation groups have long raised concerns about the fishery’s impact, and this effort marks a significant move toward addressing these issues.
During the meeting, the MMB was briefed by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on the latest data regarding osprey populations in the Chesapeake Bay and along the Atlantic Coast. The findings were alarming: in 2021, the rate of osprey young per nest in the Bay was just 0.3, far below the generally accepted reproductive rate of 1.15 young per active nest required for population maintenance. This data aligns with a 2023 study from the College of William & Mary’s Center for Conservation Biology, which reported that osprey nests in Virginia’s lower Chesapeake Bay are failing at unprecedented rates.
The newly formed workgroup is expected to address these ecological concerns by developing strategies that balance the needs of the menhaden fishery with the health of the Bay’s broader ecosystem.
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