Current State of the Menhaden Reduction Fishery

by Ed Cherry
 

(from Jersey Coast Anglers Association February 2005 Newsletter)

As of December 31, 2004, the most current information available indicates for the same time period, the 2004 Atlantic Menhaden reduction catch from Reedsville and Beaufort combined is 179,059 total metric tons versus 161,780 total metric tons for 2003. This represents a net increase of 10.6% for year-to-year comparison. It also represents a 0.7 % decrease over the 5-year average.

The age breakdown consists of 1% age 0 fish, 13% age1 fish, 74% age 2 fish and 12 % fish 3 years and older. 88% of the catch is age 2 or less. No estimates are available for the percentage of the catch in 2004 that has been taken from the VA portion of Chesapeake Bay (inside the bay Bridge Tunnel). This number will be available later in the year.

This is the latest memorandum update from Dr. J. Smith of NOAA.

As noted last month 3 additional vessels (from North Carolina (1) and the Gulf of Mexico (2) were to be placed into service for the fall Atlantic menhaden fishery.

For the future of the Bay, menhaden fishing must stop

By Dr. John B. Lapetlna Sr. Norfolk

Your Nov. 8 editorial on menhaden fishing, "In the Bay: little fish and a growing problem," did the people of Virginia a big ser­vice by bringing this disgrace to the attention of the public.

From an ecological point of view, menhaden are the most important fish that swim in the Chesapeake Bay.The fishery is controlled by the Republican-run General Assembly. This fishery is their cash cow. The menhaden lobby dumps tons of money on the Assembly and, in turn, it gets to own the Bay.Today, there are only a few menhaden boats. But two decades ago, more than two dozen were operating in the Chesapeake Bay.

So many menhaden were caught that the nets broke and dumped tons of dead fish in the lower Chesapeake. They washed ashore on Ocean View beaches. You can imagine the odor. The city of Norfolk had to send clean-up crews to remove the dead fish.In the mid-'80s, Gov. Charles Robb placed me on the fishery management board of the Vir­ginia Marine Resources Com­mission. He thought, I'd give Ocean View a voice. Can you imagine my surprise when the chairman was a man named Peck Humphreys? Mr. Hum­phreys owned a menhaden fish­ing and processing company.

The two dozen boats fished with nets 1,500 feet long and 75 feet deep. This is roughly S miles of netting used for fishing every day. The average depth of the Bay is 22 feet. Only in the dredged channels is it 57 feet. The nets catch everything they encircle.

The lower Bay was known as the bluefish capital of the world. Great schools of bluefish followed the menhaden and fed on them. The fishing nets went around both the bluefish and the men­haden. Now the bluefish are wiped out. There haven't been any in the Bay for almost 20 years.

Menhaden are not only important as a food for predatory fish. They also filter the Bay waters. One menhaden can filter a mil-lion gallons of Bay water in its normal life pan.

More than a billion of them are caught each year. Menhaden also fertilize the Bay's submerged aquatic veg­etation with their fecal drop-pings. Clean water allows the sunlight to reach the bottom and grow vegetation. The vegeta­tion removes CO2 and gives off oxygen. This affords a habitat for small fish, crabs and other marine life. Without oxygen in the water, they will die.

The main fact is: Menhaden or the lack of them have a direct effect on all other marine life. No other state on the East Coast allows menhaden fishing within its waters except Vir­ginia and North Carolina.

The Republican-run General Assembly has also allowed the menhaden industry a 1 percent by-catch. What this does is allow them to wipe out legally all the food fish.

For instance, if they catch 700 million pounds of menhaden, they can legally catch 7 million pounds of striped bass, floun­der, spot, croaker, bluefish or any other food fish. This is more food fish than all the rest  of the commercial fishermen together catch.

The real kick is, once they are sucked into the hold of the mother ship, there can be no inspection. I have never heard of a menhaden boat being inspected by anyone.

In the past 20 years, the marine resources of Virginia have been almost depleted. This was done by poor management and directly against the public interest.

I am now 80. I feel very sad when I realize that my grand-children and your grandchildren will never see the Chesapeake Bay as I did when I grew up on its shore.

Menhaden fishing should be stopped immediately. It may already be too late.

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