The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASFMC) may be poised to close the Chesapeake Bay menhaden fishery on July 1, a move that would benefit water quality and fisheries all along the East Coast, including Florida.

Menhaden are a primary source of oil and protein for gamefish, and because they are filter feeders, play an important role in protecting water quality.

Menhaden Matter, an alliance of recreational anglers and environmentalists dedicated to restoring menhaden stocks and the Chesapeake Bay, have decried the implications of “one company monopolizing a natural resource and stonewalling the regulatory process.”

Menhaden Matter has given ASMFC several good suggestions. These include:

• Set limits on the amount of menhaden that can be harvested in the Chesapeake Bay.
• Delay the start of the fishing season to June 1st.
• Implement time and area closures within the Virginia waters of the Chesapeake Bay.
• Establish regional quotas through an area-based approach to management.
• Employ other management tools to minimize the risk of localized depletion.

Menhaden Matter is also working with ASMFC in shifting the focus of its fisheries management process to an ecosystem-based approach. But they say that moving forward with this approach, while important, “Does not — and should not — supplant the need to take interim management action now.”