ACTION ALERT: Speak up for Menhaden

 

 

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC) Atlantic Menhaden Management Board will meet on Wednesday, May 26, 2004, from 8:00 - 11:00 am, in Alexandria, VA. Commissioners will decide if the ASMFC is going to address the problem of localized depletion of Atlantic menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay.

 

The ASMFC has been presented with evidence that there may be a real problem with Atlantic menhaden stocks in the Chesapeake Bay that may be harming striped bass and other predators. The ASMFC is using a stock assessment that scientists admit cannot detect localized depletion in the Bay. The other shortcoming of the current Atlantic menhaden management plan is its inability to consider menhaden’s ecological role both as forage for predators and as a filter feeder that removes excessive algae which contributes to “dead zones”.

 

CCA volunteers and staff have worked hard, along with our allies, to lay the groundwork for action to be taken. The next step is to get ASMFC’s commissioners to agree that the effects of localized depletion of Atlantic menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay need its attention. This is your chance to impact the commissioners’ decision by contacting them before the May 26 meeting.

 

Please tell Maryland’s ASMFC commissioners:

 

1. That you believe there is a problem with menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay and that you support in principle the motion that was made and tabled at ASMFC’s March meeting that asked to include in the Atlantic menhaden management plan a suite of management options to prevent the depletion of menhaden in Chesapeake Bay.

 

2. To speak up for and support a motion to hold a workshop this summer or fall to examine the status of the ecological role of menhaden, with emphasis on the implications of concentrating harvest on forage-size fish in the Chesapeake Bay.

 

Written comments can be emailed or faxed, or you can call Maryland’s commissioners at:

 

W. Pete Jensen MD DNR 580 Taylor Avenue Annapolis, MD 21401 Phone: 410.260.8102 FAX: 410.260.8111

William Goldsborough Chesapeake Bay Foundation 6 Herndon Avenue Annapolis, MD 21403 Phone: 410.268.8816 FAX: 410.268.6687

Senator Richard F. Colburn 5210 Heron Road Cambridge, MD 21613 Phone: 410.228.1137 FAX: 410.376.3737

 

For more information on the May 26 ASMFC meeting, visit the ASMFC web site.