The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission approved a 20 percent reduction in the Atlantic menhaden fishing quota for 2026 during its annual meeting last week, falling short of scientific recommendations for deeper cuts. In a separate decision, the commission opted for no changes to striped bass management, despite projections showing the species unlikely to rebuild by 2029.
The Menhaden Management Board adopted the quota measure on Oct. 28 after debate over competing proposals, setting the 2026 total allowable catch at 186,840 metric tons, down from 233,550 metric tons in 2025. The board deferred action on 2027 and 2028 quotas until its fall 2026 meeting. This follows a benchmark stock assessment released Oct. 1, which estimated menhaden biomass at 37 percent below prior levels and called for a 54 percent harvest reduction to support predators including striped bass, osprey and marine mammals.
Menhaden, a schooling forage fish reaching 15 inches, form a cornerstone of the Atlantic Coast ecosystem, providing up to 50 percent of the food biomass for species like blue crabs and weakfish. The industrial reduction fishery, which processes menhaden into fish meal and oil, accounts for 80 percent of the coastwide harvest, with operations centered in Virginia’s lower Chesapeake Bay. In 2024, Virginia landed 144,000 metric tons, or 72 percent of the total quota.
The assessment highlighted localized pressures in Chesapeake Bay, where menhaden abundance has declined since 2017. Maryland harvested less than 10 percent of its 2025 quota of 3,000 metric tons, compared with 45 percent in 2016. This scarcity has driven up bait prices for the state’s blue crab fishery, which relies on menhaden for 90 percent of its bait needs. In Southern Maryland, where Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties support 1,200 commercial crab licenses, bait costs rose 25 percent from 2023 to 2024, squeezing margins for watermen in areas like Solomons and Piney Point. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources reported crab harvest revenues down 15 percent in 2024, partly due to these input costs.
Osprey populations, which nest along Bay shorelines from Tangier Sound to the Potomac River, face related strains. A 2025 study by the Center for Conservation Biology at William & Mary documented starvation in 40 percent of osprey chicks in higher-salinity waters, where menhaden historically comprise 70 percent of the diet. Nestlings in nests near Reedville, Virginia — close to industrial fishing grounds — showed the highest mortality, with body masses 20 percent below norms. In St. Mary’s County, where osprey platforms dot the Patuxent River, local birders noted a 12 percent drop in fledging success during summer monitoring.
The board also launched Addendum I to the Menhaden Fishery Management Plan, targeting Bay-specific reforms. Options under development include capping the reduction harvest at 50,000 metric tons annually and spreading catches evenly from May through October to ease seasonal peaks. Public comment could open after board approval at the February 2026 meeting in Alexandria, Virginia.
Will Poston, forage campaign manager for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, described the quota cut as insufficient. “This is nothing more than a performative nod to ecosystem-based fisheries management,” Poston said. “The ASMFC failed to fully respond to the science, jeopardizing the ability of menhaden to fulfill their role in the food chain. This lack of meaningful action is not only risky for menhaden, but also the many fisheries and small businesses that depend on a thriving ecosystem.”
“In a bright spot, the ASMFC did launch a longer process to address menhaden concerns in the Chesapeake Bay,” Poston added. “We will continue working with our partners and the ASMFC to advocate for strong protections for menhaden in the Bay.”
On striped bass, the management board voted 11-5 on Oct. 29 to maintain current regulations for 2026, rejecting a 12 percent cut in combined commercial and recreational removals outlined in Draft Addendum III. Only Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and North Carolina supported the reduction. The decision delays rebuilding to target levels, as required by the 2019 management plan after the stock was declared overfished.
The 2024 stock assessment update projected fishing mortality rates at 0.31 for 2025-2029 under status quo, exceeding the 0.21 threshold for rebuilding by 2029. Chesapeake Bay serves as the primary nursery, hosting 70 to 90 percent of Atlantic spawning. Maryland’s 2025 young-of-year survey, released Oct. 15, recorded an index of 6.5 — a slight uptick from 5.2 in 2024 but below the 31-year average of 11.3, marking the seventh straight below-average year. Surveyors used beach seines at 22 sites, including four in Southern Maryland tributaries like the Patuxent and St. Mary’s rivers, capturing 1,200 juveniles.
The board approved Addendum III without harvest reductions but formed a work group to explore post-2029 strategies, including slot limits and bycatch caps. Maryland received flexibility to adjust recreational seasons via state process, choosing between current rules — open April 16 to April 30 and Oct. 1 to Nov. 16 with a 19- to 24-inch slot — or a proposed reset starting May 16.
Allison Colden, Maryland executive director for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, called the outcome disappointing. “This is a concerning day for striped bass,” Colden said. “ASMFC cast aside an important opportunity to meaningfully protect this iconic species. It’s clear the Board has no intention of rebuilding the striped bass population by 2029 and has chosen to deviate from its commitment to the fishery management plan. Now Maryland must step up to fill the gap and set fishing seasons that will best protect this species for future generations.”
Chris Moore, Virginia executive director for the foundation, echoed concerns tied to Bay surveys. “Our surveys in the Bay all point to a looming disaster, and our fishery in Virginia has all but dried up because there are so few striped bass around,” Moore said. “Sadly, ASMFC is not listening to the science or anglers and continues to leave the future of striped bass up to chance.”
Striped bass, or rockfish, sustain a $200 million annual fishery across the Atlantic, with recreational angling generating $1.2 billion in economic activity. In Southern Maryland, charter operations from Chesapeake Beach to Point Lookout logged 15,000 trips in 2024, down 8 percent from 2022 amid low abundances. The species migrates through Bay channels, drawing anglers to hotspots like the Gooses Reef Artificial Reef in Calvert County.
Menhaden management traces to the 1950s, when overfishing prompted interstate compacts forming the ASMFC in 1942. The current plan, updated in 2020, incorporates ecosystem reference points since 2013 to balance harvest with prey needs. Virginia’s cap on Bay landings, set at 51 percent of the coastwide quota since 2006, aims to protect local stocks but faces criticism for inadequate monitoring, as noted in a 2023 Virginia Institute of Marine Science report. Southern Maryland’s waters, encompassing 300 miles of shoreline, host juvenile menhaden nurseries in tidal creeks, underscoring the need for Bay-focused measures.
These decisions reflect ongoing tensions in interstate fisheries governance, where economic interests from reduction fleets clash with conservation priorities. The ASMFC, comprising 15 Atlantic states and federal representatives, enforces compliance through sanctions like trade restrictions. Future actions, including the menhaden addendum, will shape Bay health, where menhaden support 90 percent of the fishable biomass.
