WASHINGTON, DC / May 16, 2025

A recent article by Lisa Lewis in What's Up? Media ("The Osprey-Menhaden Bay Connection," 5/16) presents a one-sided perspective that echoes the claims of a well-funded coalition of special interest environmental groups, while ignoring the extensive scientific evidence and stakeholder voices that contradict their narrative. The piece amplifies talking points that have been challenged by federal agencies, independent scientists, and frontline workers in the industry, while repeating several inaccurate claims about the menhaden fishery.

WASHINGTON, DC / May 5, 2025

A letter from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) sent last week to the House Natural Resources Committee indicates multiple environmental stressors - not just prey availability - are responsible for recent osprey reproduction issues in the Chesapeake Bay. The USGS' conclusions challenge narratives pushed by menhaden fishery opponents, including a widely publicized study by Dr. Bryan Watts of the Center for Conservation Biology, which linked a decline in osprey reproduction in Virginia's Mobjack Bay to reduced availability of menhaden.

WASHINGTON, DC / May 2, 2025

The six shop stewards representing union fishermen members of United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400 are calling on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to protect working Virginia watermen and rely on science, not pressure from environmental and sportfishing advocacy groups, in their decisions next week. The call comes in a letter signed by the shop stewards to the Commission's Menhaden Management Board, as the Commission will debate proposals that could threaten fishing jobs and communities.

WASHINGTON, DC / February 14, 2025

An article recently published by Public News Service ("NY's Regulations Help Keep Menhaden Populations High") presents a misleading narrative regarding Atlantic menhaden populations, regulations, and their ecological impact.

WASHINGTON, DC / December 11, 2024

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has announced findings from its 2024 juvenile striped bass survey, revealing a significant milestone for juvenile menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay. While the survey documented continued challenges for striped bass reproduction, it highlighted a positive trend for two key forage species: menhaden and spot.

GULF SHORES, AL / October 17, 2024

The Gulf menhaden fishery continues to be harvesting sustainably and effectively managed, according to a new report by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission (GSMFC). Approved by the GSMFC at its annual meeting this week, the 2024 Update to the Gulf of Mexico Menhaden Stock Assessment once again confirms that the Gulf menhaden stock is neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing.

WASHINGTON, DC / September 18, 2024

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has declared this week, September 15-21, 2024, "Commercial Waterman Safety Week." The governor's proclamation recognizes that Virginia's more than 1,500 commercial watermen "risk their lives sustaining a tradition passed down through generations," help generate over $1 billion in economic impact for the Commonwealth, and deserve "access to a secure and safe work environment."

WASHINGTON, DC / August 7, 2024

Today at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) summer meeting, the Menhaden Management Board heard a presentation on osprey populations from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists; considered but did not agree to a motion to start an addendum on additional commercial menhaden fishing restrictions in the Chesapeake Bay; and ultimately agreed, as a compromise, to create a working group to "consider and evaluate options for further precautionary management of Chesapeake Bay menhaden fisheries."

WASHINGTON, DC / June 10, 2024

In a story published Friday, Jason Smith of Undercurrent News reported that the US Maritime Administration (MARAD), the chief regulator for enforcing foreign ownership rules in US menhaden fisheries, cleared Omega Protein's menhaden supplier of any wrongdoing in a 2020 investigation.

REEDVILLE, VA / April 9, 2024

Delegate Hillary Pugh Kent, representing Virginia's Northern Neck and Caroline County in House District 67, has announced that Governor Glenn Youngkin has signed into law "The Right to Fish" bill, to protect commercial watermen from interference, which she sponsored.

RICHMOND, VA / February 2, 2024

The Virginia House of Delegates Courts of Justice - Criminal Subcommittee, has favorably reported HB 928, legislation to protect commercial watermen, by a unanimous, bipartisan vote of 8-0.

REEDVILLE, VA / December 21, 2023

The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition addresses five inaccurate and misleading statements made in a recent press release by the Chesapeake Legal Alliance and the Southern Maryland Recreational Fishing Organization regarding their petition for rulemaking to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC). A brief overview of inaccuracies, expert statements, and scientific findings is listed below, followed by a more detailed discussion of each false claim.

WASHINGTON, DC / February 28, 2023

The Gulf of Mexico menhaden fishing industry supports the development and implementation of Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM). We fully recognize the importance of managing marine resources on an ecosystem basis, as all species within the Gulf of Mexico interact with one another to a varying extent. This position is consistent with the Atlantic menhaden fishery's support for ecological reference points, which were developed, peer reviewed, and implemented for management in 2020.

ARLINGTON, VA / August 3, 2022

The latest Atlantic menhaden stock assessment accepted today by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) confirms once again that Atlantic menhaden is healthy, not overfished, and that overfishing is not occurring. Significantly, this assessment was completed using new ecological reference points, standards that account for the needs of predator species when determining menhaden's sustainable status.

WASHINGTON, DC / July 13, 2022

Yesterday, Macmillan Publishers released Salmon Wars, a factually questionable book by former Los Angeles Times managing editor Douglas Frantz and former journalist turned private writer Catherine Collins. The book falsely claims that "overfishing from the Gulf of Mexico north to the Chesapeake Bay threatens a slender fish called a menhaden," and inaccurately states that menhaden is "an integral player in minimizing algae blooms because it eats phytoplankton."

BATON ROUGE, LA / April 29, 2022

A bill introduced in the Louisiana State Legislature earlier this month would enact harsh restrictions on menhaden fishing within the three miles from shore comprising the state's waters. Now a new economic report, funded by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS), shows the economic importance of the Gulf menhaden fishery to Louisiana and Mississippi, illustrating how devastating such legislation could be to coastal communities.

OCEAN SPRINGS, MS / November 9, 2021

The Gulf menhaden population has once again been confirmed to be sustainably harvested, based on the results of a recently approved stock assessment conducted by NOAA Fisheries biologists and the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission (GSMFC). Managers at the GSMFC approved the final assessment at their annual meeting in late October.

WASHINGTON, DC / August 3, 2020

As the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) considers whether to adopt Ecological Reference Points for Atlantic menhaden at its Summer Meeting this week, a new scientific analysis confirms that current management is working, and that the fishery has a minuscule impact on the overall menhaden population.

WASHINGTON, DC / October 9, 2025

The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition (MFC) is calling out an error-laden article published by The SandPaper, a newsmagazine based in Long Beach Island, New Jersey, titled "Menhaden Scarcity Leads to Bleak Outlook for Ospreys." The article is factually inaccurate, journalistically unbalanced, and overtly reliant on unsupported claims from a single advocacy group. MFC has repeatedly contacted The SandPaper's managing editor Jay Mann asking for corrections, but unfortunately, Mr. Mann has ignored our requests.