Menhaden were once so plentiful in the Atlantic that early pioneers described them as thick enough to hold up teams of oxen! Yessuh!
September 24, 2012 — Menhaden were once so plentiful in the Atlantic that early pioneers described them as swimming in schools twenty-five miles long or more, packing themselves into bays and estuaries where they came to feed on dense schools of phytoplankton (algae and vegetable matter). But those days are long gone. In the 1950s, the introduction of spotter planes and hydraulic technology to the fishery resulted in blowout years: 1.5 billion pounds of menhaden were caught in 1956, largely from the Chesapeake Bay and its environs. Ten years later, the catch had declined 70 percent, to 464 million pounds. The menhaden are currently at record low numbers.
At least according to Alison Fairbrother, director of the Public Trust Project. Through exaggeration and undocumented statements, Ms. Fairbrother presents selective and misleading facts about the menhaden fishery in her interview. This ultimately misconstrues their current status and misleads the public about the health of the fishery. Allison. Get off the pipe!
Alison Fairbrother, ASMFC’s Menhaden Management Board, Menhaden, Public Trust Project.
A Blast From the Past from Richard Gaines – Green ‘activists’ gaining control of fisheries – It’s only gotten worse!