Articles from American Small Pelagics Network

The ASMFC examined the research in 2024 and incorporated a revised natural mortality estimate into its 2025 stock assessment

WASHINGTON, D.C. / ACCESS Newswire / November 2, 2026 / The American Saltwater Guides Association's podcast, The Guide Post, opens its latest attack on the menhaden fishery under the title "Menhaden Math Ain't Mathin'." The episode features Dr. Jerald Ault promoting a mortality estimate substantially lower than the revised estimate the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission adopted after considering his work during its 2025 stock assessment.

Saltwater guides question the credibility of industry-supported scientists while accepting environmental funding and overlooking conservation advocates' longstanding relationships with fisheries researchers.

Projections show no chance of overfishing menhaden, but recreational advocates apply a different standard to overfished striped bass

ASMFC's Economists Identified the Risks; Civil-Rights and Labor Groups Identified Who Would Bear Them

WASHINGTON, D.C. / ACCESS Newswire / October 23, 2026 / Jaclyn Lunaas and Chris Macaluso of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership gave listeners a materially misleading account of menhaden science and management across both the Atlantic and Gulf fisheries. This ranges from Atlantic menhaden and Chesapeake Bay issues to Gulf menhaden in the Gulf of Mexico, along with claims involving striped bass, osprey, red drum, spotted seatrout, king mackerel, tarpon and other species. Host Tom Rowland largely accepted their claims rather than testing them against readily available fisheries data and the published record of the relevant management agencies. The result was a discussion in which advocacy was repeatedly presented as settled science.

Petition for emergency federal fishing ban ignores scientific findings, abundant juvenile menhaden and recreational fishing mortality

WASHINGTON, D.C. / ACCESS Newswire / October 8, 2026 / Steve Atkinson, chairman of the Virginia Saltwater Sportfishing Association, argues in his September 15 Virginian-Pilot column ("Reduced menhaden fishing will help protect the bay") for additional menhaden fishing restrictions. But his interpretation of the stock science is contradicted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), and his proposal gives inadequate attention to the people whose livelihoods depend on the fishery.

WASHINGTON, D.C. / ACCESS Newswire / October 6, 2026 / 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 participants and people who have survived incidents at sea, discussing their experiences and lessons for others on the water.

WASHINGTON, D.C. / ACCESS Newswire / October 2, 2026 / A September 22 Washington Examiner op-ed by Forage Fish Campaign Executive Director Whit Fosburgh presents a disparaging portrayal of Atlantic and Gulf menhaden fisheries. The op-ed fails to mention significant elements of the scientific, management and economic record, including the fisheries' stock status, generations of American working-waterfront history, and the U.S. fishermen and workers whose livelihoods depend on them.

WASHINGTON, D.C. / ACCESS Newswire / September 29, 2026 / In The Fisherman's September 24, 2026 NJ/DE Bay Region Fishing Forecast, New Jersey/Delaware Bay Edition Editor Jim Hutchinson, Jr. pressed for deeper Chesapeake Bay menhaden restrictions while repeating a broader narrative about the fishery that leaves out or conflicts with key parts of the scientific and management record. His report encourages viewers to see the reduction fishery as the cause of Maryland's bait fishery problems and as a central answer to striped bass concerns, while giving little weight to the current menhaden stock assessment, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC) ecological reference points, the history of the Bay Cap, the Commission's own scientific uncertainty, or analyses that challenge the so-called "gauntlet" theory.