What's Up? Media Article on Menhaden Fails to Tell Both Sides

Associated Press

17-05-2025

WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESS Newswire / May 16, 2025 / A recent article by Lisa Lewis in What's Up? Media ('The Osprey-Menhaden Bay Connection,' 5/16) presents a one-sided perspective that echoes the claims of a well-funded coalition of special interest environmental groups, while ignoring the extensive scientific evidence and stakeholder voices that contradict their narrative. The piece amplifies talking points that have been challenged by federal agencies, independent scientists, and frontline workers in the industry, while repeating several inaccurate claims about the menhaden fishery.
The Science Is Clear: Menhaden Are Not Overfished
The article asserts that industrial fishing is to blame for a decline in menhaden abundance in the Bay, while omitting the overwhelming scientific consensus to the contrary. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), the agency that manages menhaden for East Coast states, has repeatedly found the stock to be healthy and sustainably managed. According to the Commission's most recent stock assessment, released in 2022, menhaden are not overfished, and overfishing is not occurring.
The fishery operates under Ecological Reference Points, an ecosystem-based management approach that accounts for the needs of predators like striped bass, bluefish, and weakfish. In fact, less than 0.5% of menhaden born each year are harvested. The menhaden fishery is also certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the gold standard for international third-party environmental certification.
USGS and VIMS Question Osprey Diet Claims
The article relies on preliminary findings from a 2024 survey by the Center for Conservation Biology, suggesting menhaden scarcity is causing osprey chick reproduction failure in parts of the Chesapeake Bay. However, it does not mention a recent U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) letter to the House Natural Resources Committee, which responded to congressional questions about the osprey claims.
In its letter, the USGS found no biologically significant change in the proportion of menhaden in osprey diets from 2006 to 2021. Menhaden made up a slightly higher portion of the diet in 2021, and any apparent changes were not statistically significant. The letter explained that many other factors - including adverse weather, nesting density, predator interactions, and prey accessibility - can impact osprey chick survival. It emphasized that striped bass is a key prey species for ospreys in parts of the Bay; striped bass is currently overfished, primarily due to recreational fishing mortality.
Scientists with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) also questioned the purported menhaden-osprey connection in a 2024 peer-reviewed response. VIMS noted that a previous 2023 study on osprey did not establish a causal relationship between menhaden availability and osprey reproduction.
Ocean Harvesters Is a U.S. Company with American Crews
The article claims the fishery is dominated by a 'Canadian-owned company,' which is wrong. While Omega Protein is part of the international Cooke, Inc. family of companies, the vessels that harvest menhaden are owned and operated by Ocean Harvesters - a U.S.-based, independently owned company with American-flagged vessels and unionized American crews. In 2024, the U.S. Maritime Administration confirmed the company is in full compliance with the American Fisheries Act, which regulates participation by foreign companies in U.S. fisheries.
Omega Protein, based in Reedville, Virginia, processes the fish caught by Ocean Harvesters under a service agreement between the companies. These jobs support rural communities and represent one of the largest unionized workforces in the region.
On Transparency and Collaboration
The article repeats the false claim that Omega Protein refuses to share data with scientists, citing concerns raised by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Dr. Allison Colden. This suggestion is simply not true. Confidential landings data from the menhaden reduction fishery is routinely provided to NOAA, the ASMFC, and state regulators-including the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. This data is not casually handed out to competitors or to researchers affiliated with advocacy groups seeking to undermine the fishery; rather, it is shared with official scientific and regulatory bodies responsible for stock assessments and management decisions.
This data is not publicly distributed because it is protected under federal confidentiality laws, just like commercial data from all fisheries. However, it is actively used in the development of all stock assessments, including the Ecological Reference Points that Dr. Colden herself has publicly supported. The entire scientific understanding of the health of the menhaden stock depends on this data. To suggest otherwise is either a misunderstanding of fisheries science or a willful attempt to mislead the public.
In fact, the fishery has supported and participated in more than 15 research projects in collaboration with institutions such as VIMS and NOAA and contributed to the design of the Bay-specific study referenced in the article. Industry critics can't have it both ways-celebrating models built on this data while claiming the data isn't provided.
Reasonable Precautions Are Already in Place
The article accurately notes the Chesapeake Bay harvest cap has been cut repeatedly, from 109,020 metric tons in 2006 to 51,000 metric tons today - a reduction of more than 50%. That cap remains in place today as a precautionary safeguard, not in response to any scientifically derived or observed population decrease necessitating harvest cuts.
Local Economic and Social Contributions
In addition to its ecological and regulatory strengths, the menhaden fishery is a major driver of the local economy in Northumberland County, Virginia. The fishery, primarily operated by Omega Protein and its harvesting partner Ocean Harvesters, generates over $100 million in annual economic activity. If operations ceased, the region would face the loss of over 500 direct and indirect jobs, with Northumberland County bearing the brunt of this impact.
The industry directly employs over 260 individuals and provides an annual payroll and benefits package of approximately $23 million. Fishery workers are represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 400, which ensures strong collective bargaining rights, fair wages, and safe working conditions. This makes the menhaden fishery one of the largest union-represented private-sector employers in the region.
Importantly, the fishery is one of Northumberland County's largest minority employers, providing stable, long-term jobs to a historically underrepresented workforce. The industry's community impact extends to local vendors and businesses supported by its operations.
A Note on Media Integrity
It's worth noting that Lisa Lewis's article ends with a telling admission: 'Special thanks to Valerie Keefer, Maryland communications & media relations manager, CBF, and Kenny Fletcher, director of communications and media relations, CBF.' This acknowledgment makes clear that the story was heavily influenced-if not directly shaped-by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's communications team. It raises serious questions about the objectivity of the piece, which lacks input from fisheries scientists, union workers, and others with direct knowledge of the fishery. For readers seeking a balanced view of the Chesapeake Bay's most regulated and scrutinized fishery, this article falls short.
One modest but important positive is that Dr. Bryan Watts, quoted throughout the article, acknowledges uncertainty about the cause of reproductive issues in ospreys. This marks a notable shift from his previous public statements, which more definitively attributed the issue to the menhaden fishery. Dr. Watts now says, 'We do not know why menhaden have become less available to ospreys,' reflecting a more nuanced and scientifically appropriate stance given the complex web of factors at play.
The menhaden fishery is highly regulated, science-based, and a vital part of the Bay's economy. The complex ecology of ospreys, striped bass, and menhaden deserves continued research - and that research should be conducted in good faith, not through premature conclusions or special interest narratives.
About the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition
The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition (MFC) is a collective of menhaden fishermen, related businesses, and supporting industries. Comprised of businesses along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition conducts media and public outreach on behalf of the menhaden industry to ensure that members of the public, media, and government are informed of important issues, events, and facts about the fishery.
Media Contact:
Menhaden Fisheries Coalition
[phone]
www.menhaden.org
SOURCE: Menhaden Fisheries Coalition
press release