Throughout October, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP), the American Saltwater Guides Association, and the Forage Fish Campaign have

Groups have continued to call for further restrictions on menhaden fishing, while union workers in the commercial industry warn cuts would cost jobs

Fisheries panel to vote on proposed limits in November Pressure is mounting while a major fisheries panel prepares to consider much-needed reductions to the Chesapeake...

A Maryland recreational fishing organization is challenging Virginia’s management of menhaden, alleging state regulators bypassed public input when setting harvest quotas and failed to adequately protect a fish that feeds

In a September 18, 2025 letter to President Donald Trump, CCA Virginia, the Virginia Saltwater Sportfishing Association and seven other angling clubs accused

Tom Rowland’s podcast features misleading menhaden claims from Jaclyn Lunaas and Chris Macaluso. The debate deserves the full scientific record, not selective claims presented as proven facts.

This article was co-written with Brien Weiner of the South Shore Audubon Society, serving the southern half of Nassau County on Long Island, New York. When researchers fitted 20 Black Skimmers at Lido Beach with GPS transmitters this summer, they expected to learn more about where the birds foraged in the back bays. They uncovered a much bigger story about food scarcity. The tracking data revealed unexpected trips spanning as much as 110 kilometers (68 miles) to New Jersey’s Gateway National Recreation Area. As researchers pieced the story together, one clear driver emerged: the availability of Atlantic menhaden. One of the most adventurous tagged Black Skimmers was Michelle (Obama), a seven-year-old Black Skimmer that hatched at Lido Beach in 2019. While many skimmers stayed closer to Long Island, Michelle became the only tracked bird to cross Long Island Sound, making trips to Bridgeport and New Haven, Connecticut. She also frequently foraged east of the colony near Babylon and north toward the Bronx. Ronald (Reagan), meanwhile, headed in a different direction. The male skimmer regularly made nighttime trips to Sandy Hook and Gateway National Recreation Area in New Jersey. Closer to home, he spent much of his time in marshes west...

Conservationists and lawmakers are pushing to restrict industrial fishing operations accused of stripping Atlantic waters of menhaden, a vital food source for

Conservationists and lawmakers are pushing to restrict industrial fishing operations accused of stripping Atlantic waters of menhaden, a vital food source for

A key commission will decide next month whether to limit the commercial catch of menhaden, a small fish coveted by seabirds, off the Atlantic coast.

A key commission will decide next month whether to limit the commercial catch of menhaden, a small fish coveted by seabirds, off the Atlantic coast.

A key commission will decide next month whether to limit the commercial catch of menhaden, a small fish coveted by seabirds, off the Atlantic coast.

Petition for emergency federal fishing ban ignores scientific findings, abundant juvenile menhaden and recreational fishing mortality

Petition for emergency federal fishing ban ignores scientific findings, abundant juvenile menhaden and recreational fishing mortality

Petition for emergency federal fishing ban ignores scientific findings, abundant juvenile menhaden and recreational fishing mortality

Petition for emergency federal fishing ban ignores scientific findings, abundant juvenile menhaden and recreational fishing mortality

It’s a warm September day, one of summer’s last gasps, when Ryan Knotek drops anchor in a quiet inlet of Quincy Bay. The New England Aquarium research scientist cuts up frozen Atlantic menhaden, known locally as pogies, secures them to circle hooks attached to several fishing rods, and casts them into the shallow water. Now, it’s time to wait. The catch? Juvenile sand tiger sharks. Once fished to the brink of extinction globally, sand tiger sharks, that iconic aquarium shark with a jaw of protruding, jagged teeth that only a mother could love, have been increasing in the Boston Harbor over the last decade. Here, sand tigers up to 4 years old and measuring between 3 and 5 feet long summer from July to September. It’s a remarkable success story, both for the species and the city. Not too long ago, Boston Harbor was condemned as the “dirtiest harbor in America,” with its shallowest areas widely considered ecologically dead. That was due to the hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage and industrial waste that were dumped into its waters every day for over a century. Today, after a lawsuit, decades of work, and a $4.5 billion cleanup effort,...

On a warm September afternoon in a quiet inlet of Quincy Bay, research scientist Ryan Knotek cuts up frozen Atlantic menhaden, secures them to circle

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) are calling for stronger protections for Atlantic menhaden, a small fish that plays an enormous role in New Jersey’s coastal ecosystem. Commonly known as bunker, menhaden are a vital food source for avian and marine wildlife. The lawmakers are urging the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) to significantly reduce fishing limits to ensure enough menhaden remain in the water to sustain the species that depend on them. A 2025 scientific assessment found that the estimated average menhaden biomass was 37 percent lower than previously thought. The assessment also showed that cuts of 50 percent or more would be needed to reduce the likelihood of fishing pressure meeting or exceeding an ecological target designed to account for the food needs of striped bass. Despite those findings, the Commission reduced the coastwide catch limit by just 20 percent for 2026. “This level of reduction is insufficient to address the ecological consequences of declining menhaden abundance. Reduced menhaden availability has been identified as the primary driver of low reproduction in ospreys throughout the Chesapeake Bay. A significant cut to the menhaden TAC is needed to prevent broad ecosystem impacts...

Implementing these options will better protect menhaden and support a healthy Chesapeake Bay ecosystem now and for generations to come. (12039 signatures on petition)