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Speak Up for the Most Important Fish in the Ocean

October 10, 2017 @ 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Menhaden Hearing


Also known as pogy, bunker, and fatbacks, Atlantic menhaden are an important food for tarpon, cobia, king mackerel, osprey, humpback whales, and other predators. These forage fish too supply the largest fishery on the east coast, which for decades over-fished menhaden from the marine food web for use in products ranging from pet food to cosmetics.

Florida once saw massive schools of Atlantic menhaden, which fueled our fisheries and coastal wildlife. With your help, we can set the stage for their triumphant return.

On Tuesday,October 10, 2017 6pm at the Town of Melbourne Beach Community Center the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) will hold a public hearing on draft Amendment 3 and accept written comments until 5pm EST October 20, 2017. The draft rule proposes a range of methods to manage menhaden in the future, including the current status quo which fails to account for predator needs and a 21st century approach that protects menhaden’s role as prey using ecological reference points (ERPs). Specifically, the approach described in Issue 2.6 Reference Points – Option E on page 37 of the draft Amendment 3, will use the best available science to guide management based on the needs of marine ecosystems from Florida to Maine.

The ASMFC’s Melbourne hearing will be the last and only one in the entire Southeast. Your comments will help decide the fate of menhaden when the Commission votes to finalize Amendment 3 at their meeting on November 13-14 in Baltimore, MD. With your encouragement, they could leave hundreds of millions more menhaden in the ocean to grow abundance and provide for predators, or, without it, they could stick with the current single-species approach and likely take hundreds of millions more out of the ocean for bait and other products. Whether you are an angler, coastal business owner, diver, birder, or just enjoy healthy oceans, your voice is needed at the public hearing September 26.

Please take this rare and precious opportunity to speak up for menhaden and the fish, wildlife, and people who depend on them. Attend the hearing on October 10 and write the ASMFC at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Amd. 3).

Contact Cameron Jaggard 202-590-8954 or cjaggard@pewtrusts.org for more information. Additional details are below.

AMENDMENT 3 BACKGROUND
•In May 2015, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) initiated Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic menhaden to establish ecological management, and to review and possibly update state-by-state quota allocations. Since then, ASMFC staff, scientists, and advisors have been developing and reviewing a range of ecological models and management strategies.

•In November and December 2016, ASMFC held a series of public hearings soliciting input on the Amendment 3 Public Information Document – over 25,000 comments favored moving immediately to ecosystem-based management of Atlantic menhaden (maintaining single species management – the status quo – was only supported by 11 commenters).

•The final Draft Amendment 3 is now available for public comment here: http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/AtlanticMenhadenDraftAmendment3_PublicComment.pdf.

•Public hearings will be held throughout the East Coast in September and October. The official public hearing announcement is here: http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file//5995ef48pr37MenhadenDraftAm3_Hearings.pdf

•Public comment will be accepted at public hearings and in writing, until 5:00 PM (EST) on October 20, 2017 and should be sent to Megan Ware, FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Amd. 3).

•Please make sure to state clearly in your comments your support for Issue 2.6 Reference Points – Option E.

•The ASMFC will hold a final vote on Amendment 3, and will set the 2018 catch limit, over the course of a two day meeting November 13-14 at the BWI Airport Marriott, 1743 West Nursery Road, Linthicum, Maryland.

Details

Date:
October 10, 2017
Time:
2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Event Category: