The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) recently officially opened the comment period on proposed changes to the Chesapeake Bay’s industrial menhaden fishery — a move that now gives the public the opportunity to weigh in on how best to protect the critical forage fish.
The ASMFC on Aug. 5 advanced a measure, known as Draft Addendum II, that could cut the industrial fishery harvest cap in the bay by up to 50 percent and spread the harvest out throughout the year, among other possible changes.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) supports the strongest option on the table: cutting the Chesapeake Bay Reduction Fishery Cap in half and creating three quota periods to better spread the harvest out throughout the season. This would cut down on sustained pressure from concentrated high-volume fishing.
