Coming Together: Striped Bass and Menhaden
Reading Time 1 minute By Ken Hinman
Two iconic fish – the striped bass, perhaps the most popular game fish on the east coast, and menhaden, the prey of choice for stripers and dozens of other coastal Atlantic predators – will be the topic of discussions at the upcoming Annual Meeting of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission on St. Simons Island, Georgia.
Until recently, both of these fish were managed with little attention to the other, despite their strong inter-dependence as predator and prey. But that’s been changing, because of the work of Wild Oceans.
Now, the health of striped bass is being considered in decisions on how to conserve menhaden, and vice versa. As it should be.The ASMFC’s menhaden management board will meet on Monday, October 27th and the striped bass board on Tuesday. Wild Oceans will be there, to continue advancing an ecosystems approach to conserving these closely linked species in abundance. The future of fishing depends on it.
Read about the striper/menhaden connection in my cover story, “Once Bitten, Twice Shy,” in our summer newsletter, The Horizon.
And support our efforts to conserve predators and their prey with a donation today. Thanks!
