Abstract
Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) support the largest fishery by volume on the United States East Coast, while also playing an important role as a forage species. Managers’ and stakeholders’ increasing concerns about the impact of Atlantic menhaden harvest on ecosystem processes led to an evolution in the assessment and management of this species from a purely single-species approach to an ecosystem approach. The first coastwide stock assessment of Atlantic menhaden for management used a single-species virtual population analysis (VPA). Subsequent assessments used a forward projecting statistical catch-at-age framework that incorporated estimates of predation mortality from a multispecies VPA while analytical efforts continued toward the development of ecosystem models and explicit ecological reference points (ERPs) for Atlantic menhaden. As an interim step while ecosystem models were being developed, a series of ad hoc measures to preserve Atlantic menhaden biomass for predators were used by managers. In August 2020, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission formally adopted an ecological modeling framework as a tool to set reference points and harvest limits for the Atlantic menhaden that considers their role as a forage fish. This is the first example of a quantitative ecosystem approach to setting reference points on the United States Atlantic Coast and it represents a significant advance for forage fish management. This case study reviews the history of Atlantic menhaden stock assessments and management, outlines the progress on the current implementation of ERPs for this species, and highlights future research and management needs to improve and expand ecosystem-based fisheries management.
Highlights
Over the past several decades, scientists, managers, and stakeholders have expressed increasing interest in ecosystembased fisheries management (EBFM)
Atlantic menhaden are managed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), as the majority of landings historically come from United States state territorial waters rather than United States federal exclusive economic zone waters (3–200 miles from the coast)
The new threshold and target resulted in a higher percent maximum spawning percentage than the previous reference points, equivalent to an F21%maximum spawning potential (MSP) and F36%MSP, respectively (Table 1), and were more conservative than the previous reference points. This stock assessment found that Atlantic menhaden were not overfished and not experiencing overfishing relative to their single-species reference points, but improvements to model structure and data resulted in a revision to historical stock status, indicating F had been below both the target and the threshold since 2000, even under the new, more conservative reference points (Southeast Data Assessment and Review [SEDAR], 2015)
Summary
Over the past several decades, scientists, managers, and stakeholders have expressed increasing interest in ecosystembased fisheries management (EBFM). The northwest Atlantic continental shelf (NWACS) ecosystem has a diverse prey base and the prevalence of Atlantic menhaden in the diets of predators varies by season and region, as well as with the age of the predator, the abundance of Atlantic menhaden, and availability of other alternative prey (Chase, 2002; Walter et al, 2003; Butler et al, 2010; Overton et al, 2015) In addition to their ecological role, Atlantic menhaden have supported the largest commercial fishery by volume, or weight in tonnes, on the Atlantic coast for over a century with landings in 2018 valued at US$44.5 million (Ahrenholz et al, 1987; National Marine Fisheries Service [NMFS], 2020; Southeast Data Assessment and Review [SEDAR], 2020a). The objectives of this case study were to (1) describe the history of Atlantic menhaden management and assessment science to illustrate the development and implementation of an ecosystem approach to forage fish management, (2) highlight the challenges faced and future work needed to advance Atlantic menhaden management, and (3) synthesize the lessons learned from this process that can facilitate advances in the management of other forage fish species
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