Why It Matters: Management of several important marine fisheries for recreational anglers along the Atlantic seaboard, such as striped bass, red drum, and Atlantic menhaden, are managed cooperatively by the 15 member states of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). This year’s ASMFC annual meeting presented the Commission with no shortage of hefty decisions, and some of those decisions were in line with the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation’s (CSF) support, while others left CSF and anglers scratching their heads.
Highlights:
- The ASMFC elected to maintain status quo management of striped bass for 2026, preventing unnecessary season closures and protecting coastal economies.
- The Atlantic States, particularly in the southern region, were provided more flexibility in managing red drum as the stock’s range shifts and the population dynamics change.
- While menhaden are supposed to be managed to an ecological reference point (ERP) to leave enough of these critical forage fish in the water for striped bass and other dependent species, the ASMFC effectively abandoned this approach in their decision to only reduce the quota by 20%.
Last week, the ASMFC held their annual meeting in Dewey Beach, Delaware. With several important decisions on the Commission agenda, CSF was actively engaged in the comment opportunities leading up to the meeting. While two of the management decisions important to CSF had a positive outcome, one did not.
Draft Addendum III to Amendment 7 of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass proposed, among other changes, an additional 12% reduction in fishing mortality, which included more seasonal closures to only slightly improve the odds that the population rebuilds by an arbitrary 2029 deadline. CSF advocated against the proposed closures, citing that striped bass removals were already at a 30-year low and the current regulations are clearly working as the number of larger fish in the population continues to grow towards the rebuilding target. Environmental variables, not fishing effort, are driving the striped bass population abundance. Fortunately, the ASMFC chose to maintain a regulatory status quo, avoiding unnecessary striped bass fishing closures, for now.
Red drum are an important recreational species, the popularity of which continues to grow as the stock expands northward. The ASMFC advanced Addendum II to Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Red Drum, which presented several opportunities to modernize red drum management by providing more flexibility to the states, particularly in the ASMFC’s southern region. CSF joined the American Sportfishing Association in formally commenting in support of the measures.
Finally, in 2020, the ASMFC implemented ecological reference points (ERPs) for Atlantic menhaden, a historic step in considering the value of these forage fish for the ecosystem. At last week’s meeting, the ASMFC was tasked with reviewing the results of a recent Atlantic menhaden stock assessment, which found that the original ERPs should be adjusted to reduce harvest. While recent harvest estimates determined the fishery is not overfished on a single-species model, a substantial reduction in menhaden fishing effort is necessary to have at least a 50% probability of meeting the removal target. CSF submitted comments in support of managing to the ERPs. While the ASMFC accepted the updated ERPs, unfortunately, they elected not to make reductions to the menhaden harvest that are necessary to achieve the ERPs’ targets and effectively ignored their own management objectives.
