The next meeting of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) takes place from August 4 to 6 at the Westin Crystal City in Arlington, VA. For those who’d like to sit in on the conversation from the air-conditioned comfort of their own home find the webinar details, along with the full agenda, at ASFMC.org.
Of particular note to toggers, the ASMFC’s Tautog Management Board will meet on Tuesday, August 4 from 2:45 to 4:45 PM to consider approval of Draft Addendum I for public comment, which includes measures to address changes in stock status for New Jersey-New York Bight and Delaware-Maryland-Virginia stock units. As reported previously in The Fisherman, results of the 2025 regional stock assessments update show that tautog were not overfished but experiencing overfishing in New Jersey-New York Bight (NJ-NYB) region, while considered overfished and experiencing overfishing in Delaware/Maryland/Virginia (DMV).
In response, the ASMFC’s Tautog Management Board tasked the technical folks at ASMFC back in May to develop harvest projections to determine any reductions necessary to reach a 50% probability of achieving the fishing mortality target by 2028 and 2030. According to projections, the NJ-NYB region would need a 44% reduction to have a 50% probability of achieving the mortality target in 2028, and a 40% reduction would be needed for a 50% probability of achieving the target in 2030.
In the DMV region on the other hand, maintaining status quo removals (equal to the 2022-2024 average) would result in a greater than 50% probability of being at or below the target in both 2028 and 2030. That essentially means that reductions there might not be required. According to ASMFC, this is likely due to the very strong year-classes in 2020-2023, as well was lower overall tautog removals in recent years. Whatever regulatory changes that may be required for either NJ-NYB or DMV will become clearer after the August 4th meeting.
On the menhaden front, the Atlantic Menhaden Management Board will meet from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 5, to consider approval of Draft Addendum II for public comment which could modify the Chesapeake Bay Reduction Fishery Cap. There will be plenty of discussion – over 3 hours’ worth of it – reviewing technical reports while debating upon the impacts to the bait fishery which might come from altering the cap in the Chesapeake Bay reduction fishery.
As the ASMFC prepares to discuss menhaden catch limits, a new study conducted by Southwick Associates shows that recreational anglers rely on this keystone species as one of the most important baitfish. The study estimates that recreational Atlantic fishing trips involving menhaden generated approximately $804 million in angler spending and supported more than 7,200 jobs nationwide in 2025.
“Atlantic fishing trips involving menhaden generate more than $1.5 billion in annual economic output,” said Ben Scuderi, lead economist at Southwick Associates. “That figure represents the full spectrum of spending that occurs for fishing trips where menhaden are used as bait, from direct purchases of equipment, food, fuel, and the many other items needed for a day of fishing, to the downstream effects that spending has on retailers, manufacturers, and countless other businesses,” Scuderi added.
The study showed that bunker as bait supports fisheries targeting some of the Atlantic Coast’s most popular recreational species, including striped bass, bluefish, tuna, weakfish, flounder, red drum, and cobia. Researchers also found that anglers depend heavily on access to menhaden products beyond live or dead fish as bait, such as menhaden chum or menhaden-based scent products.
In November, the ASMFC’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board is expected to establish a new coastwide total allowable catch for Atlantic menhaden for 2027-2028, but the opening salvo in this battle could come during the August meetings in Virginia, which of course is home to the menhaden reduction now actively vacuuming up tons of bunker in federal waters in the New Jersey-New York Bight region.
