The largest fishery by volume on the U.S. Atlantic coast, supplying bait, animal feed and omega-3 nutrition.
Updated November 6, 2026
National Fisherman
Commercial fishermen from Maine and Virginia are calling on fisheries managers to maintain the Atlantic menhaden quota for 2027, arguing that additional reductions could threaten fishing families and coastal communities that depend on the…
Reported by National Fisherman · read at Saving Seafood
Saving Seafood
Dr. Derek Aday, director and dean of William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science and the Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences, has offered a thoughtful and timely call for rigorous, unbiased…
Saving Seafood
Saving Seafood
The following was released Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission: Final supplemental materials for ASMFC’s 84 TH Annual Meeting are now available at https://asmfc.org/events/ 2026-annual-meeting/ for the following Management Boards. Links can be found under…
Saving Seafood
ASPN
The following was released by the American Small Pelagics Network: Fishermen from Maine and Virginia are standing together in support of a healthy Atlantic menhaden fishery, calling on fisheries managers to maintain the coastwide…
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission: Supplemental materials for ASMFC’s 84 TH Annual Meeting are now available at https://asmfc.org/events/2026-annual-meeting/ the following Management Boards. The combined document of supplemental materials…
SeafoodSource
A coalition of recreational fishing organizations is petitioning the government to ban Atlantic menhaden fishing in parts of the U.S., while union workers in the menhaden processing industry warn cuts would cost jobs. “Working…
Reported by SeafoodSource · read at Saving Seafood
UFCW Local 400
The following was released by UFCW Local 400: United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400 is calling on lawmakers and fisheries regulators to protect the livelihoods of hundreds of working families in Virginia’s…
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission: Please find below the meeting details and public comment guidelines for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 84 th Annual Meeting, which will…
Menhaden Fisheries Coalition
The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition : “The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition is delighted to see the America First Seafood Strategy . This approach is long overdue and has the potential to…
National Fisherman
The pushback against additional restrictions on Chesapeake Bay’s menhaden fishery is growing ahead of a key November vote, with more than 1,200 industry employees and community members urging fisheries managers to reject further cuts.…
Reported by National Fisherman · read at Saving Seafood
ASPN
The following was released by the American Small Pelagics Network: Jaclyn Lunaas and Chris Macaluso of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership gave listeners a materially misleading account of menhaden science and management across both…
Ocean Harvesters
The following was released by Ocean Harvesters: A total of 1,267 menhaden industry employees and community members submitted letters during the public comment period asking the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Atlantic Menhaden…
Richmond Times-Dispatch
I am an African American union worker in Virginia’s menhaden fishery. When former Natural Resources Secretary Matt Strickler reduced this debate in the pages of this newspaper to the interests of “one foreign corporation,”…
Reported by Richmond Times-Dispatch · read at Saving Seafood
Menhaden Fisheries Coalition
The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition: The Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) 2026 juvenile striped bass survey , which tracks the reproductive success of Maryland’s state fish in Chesapeake Bay,…
Ocean Harvesters
The following was released by the Ocean Harvesters: Darawn Kenner , an African American union worker, chief shop steward for United Food & Commercial Workers Local 400 at Ocean Harvesters in Reedville and cook…
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
The following was released by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources: The Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) 2026 juvenile striped bass survey recorded a young-of-year index of 5.5. Although it marks the eighth…
National Fisherman
The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition (MFC) is pushing back against a congressional effort to further restrict Atlantic menhaden harvest in the Chesapeake Bay, arguing that lawmakers should not make additional cuts before ongoing Bay-specific research…
Reported by National Fisherman · read at Saving Seafood
Saving Seafood
The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition is challenging an October 9 congressional letter , led by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Representative Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.), urging the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) to impose…
Saving Seafood
National Fisherman
As the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) prepares for a November vote on possible new Chesapeake Bay menhaden restrictions, fishermen and workers on both sides of the debate say the outcome could hit…
Reported by National Fisherman · read at Saving Seafood
ASPN
The following was released by the American Small Pelagics Network: The Qualified Captain is a North Carolina-based boating and maritime interview podcast hosted by Aaron Stasiak. On the podcast, Stasiak interviews captains, marine industry…
Atlantic menhaden are harvested for two distinct markets: a bait fishery supplying crab, lobster and recreational fisheries, and a reduction fishery producing fish meal, fish oil and omega-3 nutrition products.
Menhaden are also a forage species, an important link in the coastal food chain between primary production and larger predators. Atlantic menhaden are managed to support their role in the marine ecosystem.
Become part of ASPN, a network of fishermen, processors, and community leaders advancing responsible management of these fisheries.