Spring 2012 ACTION ALERT>>

Greetings! Fellow Menhaden Defender,

The Battle for the Bunker continues. This is your call to action. Please do your part to help our Bunker and make sure that the ASMFC hears us loud and clear.

If possible, please attend your local hearing with your comments in hand. The hearing schedule is at ASMFC website below. If submitted otherwise, comments must be received by 5:00 PM (EST) on April 20, 2012. Do not wait until last minute, act now!

The ASMFC is currently seeking public comment on management tools for the commercial and recreational menhaden fisheries. At this stage of the process, it is important that the ASMFC include as many practical options as possible in the Amendment (except for the ridiculous 10 year timeline!) so that stakeholders and the public have an opportunity to comment.

I encourage you to add your own comments to the comment contained here. A personalized message will have a greater impact. However, the most important thing is to comment. If you would like to see more details regarding this request for public input, please visit the www.asmfc.org website, found under managed species>Atlantic Menhaden-

You may submit public comment in one or more of the following ways:

1. Attend public hearings held in your state or jurisdiction, if applicable.

2. Refer comments to your state’s members on the Atlantic Menhaden Board or Atlantic

Menhaden Advisory Panel, if applicable.

3. Mail, fax, or email written comments to the following address:

Michael Waine

Fishery Management Plan Coordinator

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

1050 North Highland Street, Suite 200A-N

Arlington, Virginia 22201

Fax: (703) 842-0741

mwaine@asmfc.org (subject line: Menhaden PID)

If you have any questions please call Mike Waine at (703) 842-0740.

Dear Michael Waine,

Atlantic menhaden is a critical species to our marine ecosystem, yet overfishing has occurred 52 of the last 54 years. The population is now at record low levels.

It is time for the ASMFC to act by establishing the first ever coast-wide limit on menhaden landings, along with appropriate management measures to insure that limit is not exceeded.

The ASMFC must implement the new amendment in time for the 2013 fishing season. The ASMFC has seen overwhelming, unprecedented public support for menhaden conservation: 91,000 people wrote to the ASMFC in support of leaving more menhaden in the sea. In line with its mission to manage public marine resources sustainably, the ASMFC should finalize the new amendment to the fishery management plan by October 2012.

It is important that the Menhaden Management Board:

1. Implement immediate catch reductions that will achieve the TARGET in 3 years or less. The sooner we restore menhaden abundance, the sooner it will benefit the ocean’s many predators and the east coast fisheries that depend on the commercial and sport fish that need menhaden to thrive!

2. Remove the 10-year rebuilding timeline as an option. It’s a slap in the face to the public, who have already waited a decade for the ASMFC to take action to restore menhaden, to be asked to wait another 10 years!

3. Set a total allowable coast-wide catch, with at least a 75% probability of achieving the target within the designated time frame. Menhaden must be restored throughout its historical range. There is too much at stake to take chances with recovery!

In addition

· Timely, comprehensive catch reporting must be in place to administer the coastwide quota.

· The recreational fishery should maintain de minimus status, as long as the fishery continues to catch less than 1 percent of the total.

· States that wish to apply for de minimus status must be subject to rigorous monitoring and applicable limits, beyond which they will no longer quality for de minimus status.

· The ASMFC should call for complimentary management measures to be implemented in federal waters (EEZ). The United States EEZ is the largest in the world. Menhaden management must be extended to these waters to ensure conservation of this crucially important forage species.

Overall, the ASMFC include as many practical options as possible in the Amendment, except for the absurd 10 year timeline to meet the target, and it should take action immediately, such that new management measures are implemented for the 2013 fishing season.

Respectfully,

Your name with address, state, zip code and email address

Thanks very much for your continued support and action. Please remember to follow us on Facebook, Twitter or the Menhaden Defenders Website: www.menhadendefenders.org

AND: make sure that you have a your No Bunker=No Bass sticker.

You get 2 of them for a donation of $5.

Email captpaul@menhadendefenders.org with your address.

Thanks,

Paul

Battle over Bunkers: Anglers call to Action

Fishing from my boat or on the beach, I see and hear the spotter planes buzz overhead, directing all the Menhaden (bunker) boats where to set their nets. April through November, Monday through Friday, sunup to sundown, the netting continues without any catch or quota limit.
It is clear to everyone that fishes these waters that when the bunkers are here the fishing is fantastic, and then after just a few days of netting an area, all the bunkers are gone and so are the gamefish. For years we watched this happening, yet nobody is doing anything to stop it. Menhaden have simply fallen off the radar and the commercial companies know it.
Be it in state waters or offshore, bunker schools along the Atlantic coast are being decimated by commercial fisherman as if there was an infinite supply of fish. They fish with complete disregard for the recreational fisherman, related fishing businesses or the environment. The market demand for fish meal and fish oil is exploding worldwide, and the boats are getting bigger and more facilities are being built to keep up with the demand.

Commercial lobstermen have simply run out of Herring in New England and now the focus has turned to bunker with no end in sight.
Just about every predator that lives in, on or near the water feeds on these fish at some stage.

In the fall, anglers rely on the vast schools of this years young (peanut bunkers) to move out of the back waters and migrate down the shoreline. This mass movement triggers the normally fantastic fall fishing season that we all have come to treasure. Striped bass, tuna, bluefish, weakfish all gorge themselves in preparation for the long winter ahead. For the past three years, we have watched these schools VANISH before our eyes and our normally fantastic fall fishery is going with it.
Industry spokesman continue to spew lies to the public and clientele about the sustainability of the resource and how “ocean friendly” there fishing methods are. If this is so true, then why are all the baby bunkers gone?
Recreational anglers are fed up with being treated like second rate citizens and must band together as one to take on greedy commercial interests. The upcoming ASMFC vote November to recognize these important fish is critical. The public comment period will open around Sept. 1
We all need to make sure that the ASMFC adopts measures that keep the maximum amount of the mature, egg laden menhaden in our waters to insure the future of the Menhaden and in turn the future of our fishery. The exploitation of these vital fish must end now!

Capt. Paul Eidman

www.menhadendefenders.org