ASMFC Draft Addendum II and Coastwide TAC Action Alert

ASMFC released Draft Addendum II to Amendment 3 of the Atlantic Menhaden Interstate  Fishery Management Plan for public comment. This guide explains that document. The ASMFC adopted the Addendum at its summer meeting in August. The public comment period will run  through October. It will then be followed by the Board’s review at the Commission’s Annual  Meeting (November 2026), where the Board will consider final action on Draft Addendum II. To  get up to speed on the background of current Atlantic Menhaden management, we encourage you  to read our recent summary of how the fishery reached this point.  

What we are observing along the Atlantic Coast and in the Chesapeake Bay is extremely  concerning not only from a fisheries management perspective but also for the communities,  stakeholders, and anyone who depends on and cares about the future of these historic fisheries.  Atlantic Menhaden face a grossly overestimated assessment, with science suggesting that overall  abundance is ~37% lower than recently assumed. Additionally, the commercial fishery has seen  consistently below-average harvests, especially in the reduction fishery within the Bay.  Consequently, many other important fisheries are declining, driving significant concern about the  need for appropriate management action across the board, with critical action needed for Atlantic  Menhaden.

Note: Harvest allocation is measured by yield weight (mt = metric ton). 1mt = 2204.62 lbs. • The Ches. Bay Cap is 51,000mt and is used only by the Comm. Reduction Fishery.

ASGA Recommendations

ASGA supports the following selected alternatives for the Chesapeake Bay Cap, as ecologically  and socioeconomically appropriate, to inform effective management actions, reduce the risk of  overfishing, and promote resilient futures for the resource and its communities. 

• 3.1 Chesapeake Bay Reduction Amount 
  • ASGA Recommendation: Sub Option B4 – a 50% reduction in the current Bay Cap,  resulting in a Bay Cap of 25,500 mt. 
    
    
• 3.2.1. Chesapeake Bay Reduction Fishery Cap Quota Period 
  • ASGA Recommendation: Option B1 – Even Length & Even Harvest. 
    
    
• 3.2.2 Chesapeake Bay Reduction Fishery Cap Quota Period Overages and Underages
  • ASGA Recommendation: Underage Sub Option 1 – an underage in Quota Period 1  would be split evenly and rolled over to Quota Periods 2 and 3. 
    
    
• 3.3 Chesapeake Bay Reduction Fishery Cap Revisit Provision 
  • ASGA Recommendation: Option B – The Chesapeake Bay Cap will be reviewed at  least once every three years.
    
    

Supporting information for listed positions: 

• The Chesapeake Bay is a vital ecological system that supports numerous species across  all life stages, including Atlantic Menhaden and predators like Striped Bass, and sustains  most of their populations along the Atlantic coast. Proposing to link the Bay Cap to a  coastwide TAC would assume that local-scale population dynamics within the Bay  reflect large-scale dynamics coastwide, which contradicts the ecological reality that the  Bay supports a large portion of coastwide stocks and their overall population dynamics.  Basing the Bay’s independent reduction harvest level on a large-scale assessment of the  coastwide stock would fail to detect effects of ecological processes occurring on a much  smaller scale within the Bay. This would lead to inappropriate management of the Bay’s  reduction fishery and ultimately fail to promote a resilient future for the overall fishery.  Additionally, this approach leaves open the possibility that the Menhaden board could  increase the Bay Cap well beyond its current level, which is already associated with a  100% likelihood of overfishing at the prolonged historic unsustainable rate of removal  the reduction fishery has operated at. Instead, adopting Bay-specific management  strategies, such as independent harvest reductions and structured quota periods, reduces  overall effort during the historic peak weeks of harvest by spreading it more evenly  across space and time, promoting a more adaptive management approach suited to the  highly dynamic and vital Chesapeake Bay. 
  
  
• The 50% reduction in the current Bay Cap is justified by a documented error in the  natural mortality estimate, which systematically underestimated fishing mortality and  overestimated productivity, leading to substantial overharvest in the Bay over a  prolonged period. Since 2018, the Bay Cap has averaged 24.01% of the highly variable  coastwide TAC (range 21.84–27.30%); a 50% reduction meaningfully lowers this share  to ~13.6%, significantly reducing the Bay Cap, correcting for prior overharvest, and  beginning to restore the forage base. Maintaining recent harvest levels or implementing  inadequate harvest reductions would fail to account for prior statistical errors and would  continue to drive unsustainable removals, increasing the probability of future overfishing. 
  
  
• Option B1, with evenly spaced periods and a 33% harvest share, is the only option that  successfully redistributes landings and effort. By comparison, B2 and B3 concentrate  effort over shorter intervals, increasing harvest pressure over limited periods and areas  and counteracting Addendum II’s aim to reduce the risk of localized depletion. 
  
  
• The Bay Cap has failed to limit the spatial and temporal concentration of reduction fishery  harvest in the Chesapeake Bay; since 2018, effort and landings have increasingly concentrated in  a small number of weeks in July–August. The Bay Cap functions as a conservation tool only  when paired with reduced landings and redistributed effort, as suggested by the supported Draft  Addendum positions.
  
  

ASMFC Atlantic Menhaden Addendum Action Alert

Now, what about the coastwide TAC? 

To correct the previous mistake that significantly overestimated the Atlantic menhaden stock  because of the previously mentioned natural mortality error, the coastwide total allowable catch  (TAC) for the commercial bait and reduction fisheries was reduced by 20% for 2025. This  lowered the TAC from 233,550 mt to 186,840 mt. However, because the actual harvest in 2024  was only 186,155 mt, slightly above the 2023 total of 163,816 mt, the supposed reduction didn’t  result in any real decrease in Atlantic menhaden catches across coastwide waters. After seeing the  results of their “paper reduction” and many championing it as a mythical win, it’s time to ask whether  managers and other advocacy groups will support meaningful, appropriate management actions or keep  mulling over insignificant measures to avoid short-term inconvenience to anyone, at the long-term  expense of the resource itself. 

We understand fisheries management is complex, and that’s why we respect the nuance that  accompanies it, because that’s what our advocates and the resource deserve. Beyond the recent  population overestimation and the commercial fishery catching half a billion pounds too many  menhaden, a massive issue in New England is quickly coming to a head: the sea herring fishery  has collapsed, a dominant source of lobster bait for decades. Maine’s commercial Menhaden bait  fishery is catching over 900 mt (2+ million lbs.) of menhaden a week this summer, and it has  made it clear it has the infrastructure and ability to exponentially ramp up operations and further  exploit menhaden to meet the lobster fishery’s bait needs. Additionally, the lobster fishery’s  current needs are estimated at 36,287mt to 45,359mt of bait a year, which is not far from the  current Bay Cap of 51,000mt, which critically needs a 50% reduction to address the ongoing  unsustainable harvest rates! So how could anything besides a drastic ocean and bay reduction be  advocated for to address the prolonged overharvest and protect the Atlantic Menhaden  population from a shift in effort due to the human-driven collapse of sea herring? If the lobster  industry has its way, it will have the same scale of menhaden fishery in the Gulf of Maine as  exists in the Chesapeake Bay. You must understand that market forces can affect how these  management decisions play out, and it is critical to understand the nuance and importance of  appropriate decisions now to implement effective management. 

This fall, the Atlantic Menhaden Board will vote on new measures for the coastwide TAC. The TAC must be reduced by at least 30%, from the current 186,840mt to 130,788 mt. Ideally, the  coastwide TAC should be reduced by 50%, lowering the operating TAC to 94,420 mt. These are  the only options to ensure the coastwide commercial Atlantic Menhaden fishery operates at a  capacity that does not carry a 100% probability of overfishing. Paired with the appropriate  management actions for the Bay outlined in Draft Addendum II, these options for the coastwide  fishery offer the best path forward for resilient futures for Atlantic Menhaden, the predators that depend on them, and the coastal communities whose livelihoods and traditions were built on  these fisheries. 

The comment period for Draft Addendum II to Amendment 3 of the Atlantic Menhaden Management Plan is open. Stay updated on ASMFC actions and hearings, and submit comments using links on the last page. Comments on the Coastwide TAC should be emailed to ASMFC and should accompany Addendum II comments for the Bay Cap. Personal messages are likely to have more impact than form letters. 

Options for Submitting Comments: 

• The public comment survey, which was developed to facilitate the gathering of input on  the Draft Addendum’s specific options 
  
  
• Written comments via Atlantic Menhaden Action Tracker, the public comment form  below, or comments@asmfc.org 
  
  
• Written comments submitted via snail mail to James Boyle, FMP Coordinator, at 1050 N.  Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, Virginia 22201 
  
  
• Verbal comments provided at any of the scheduled public hearings
  
  

State Hearing Schedule: 

The Atlantic coastal states of Maine through Virginia have scheduled their public hearings to  gather input on the draft addendum: 

• MD & PRFC Public Hearing on Atlantic Menhaden Draft Addendum II Tuesday, Sep. 15, 2026 – 6:00 pm (in person) 
  
  
• NY & CT Public Hearing on Atlantic Menhaden Draft Addendum II Wednesday, Sep. 16, 2026 – 6:00 pm (Hybrid) 
  
  
• VA Public Hearing on Atlantic Menhaden Draft Addendum II Saturday, Sep. 19, 2026 – 10:00 am (in person) 
  
  
• NJ & DE Public Hearing on Atlantic Menhaden Draft Addendum II Tuesday, Sep. 22, 2026 – 6:00 pm (Virtual) 
  
  
• VA Public Hearing on Atlantic Menhaden Draft Addendum II – Fort Monroe Monday, Sep. 28, 2026 – 6:00 pm (in person) 
  
  
• ME, NH, MA & RI Public Hearing on Atlantic Menhaden Draft Addendum II Tuesday, Sep. 29, 2026 – 6:00 pm (Virtual) 
  
  
• General Public Hearing on Atlantic Menhaden Draft Addendum II Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026 – 6:00 pm (Virtual)