skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, September 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Post-presidential debate poll shows a shift in WI; Teamsters won't endorse in presidential race after releasing internal polling showing most members support Trump; IL energy jobs growth is strong but lacks female workers; Pregnant, Black Coloradans twice as likely to die than the overall population.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The Teamsters choose not to endorse a presidential candidate, county officials in Texas fight back against state moves to limit voter registration efforts, and the FBI investigate suspicious packages sent to elections offices in at least 17 states.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

Managing the Little Fish in Big Demand

play audio
Play

Thursday, November 10, 2016   

RICHMOND, Va. – A boost to catch limits for an important little fish is worrying sport fishing enthusiasts and conservationists.

They say the fish’s role in the ocean is still not clear.

A Virginia company processes hundreds of thousands of tons of menhaden for fish meal and oil.

But John McMurray, president of One More Cast charters of Long Island, N.Y., says the fish also supports bigger predator fish such as striped bass and bluefish that his clients pay to catch.

McMurray points out menhaden limits have been a huge boost to the bigger fish, and worries that loosening those limits will mean fewer predators such as the whale he just saw.

"One came up 20 feet away from the boat, opened his mouth,” he relates. “Menhaden were flying out the side of it.

“And it's very shortsighted that we're allowing these increases before we really even know what sort of effect they're going to have on the predators."

Conservationists say a 20 percent cut in the allowable menhaden catch, effective for 2013 and 2014, helped trigger a rapid rebound in the fish's population and territory, although environmentalists say the fish hasn't recovered fully yet.

The catch limit was raised by 10 percent, effective starting last year. Late last month it was raised again by nearly 6.5 percent, effective for next year.

The small, oily fish is the biggest East Coast catch by volume, because it's processed for oil and meal. But Joseph Gordon, manager for Mid-Atlantic Ocean Conservation for The Pew Charitable Trusts, says we don't know enough about the menhaden's role as a forage fish.

Fishery regulators have mandated a study of menhaden's role in the oceans ecosystems.

Gordon says he's very glad to see that starting, but it won't be finished for another year. In the meantime he says increasing the limit as was done last month is premature.

"This increase means that there'll be millions less fish in the ocean,” he stresses. “We don't know the impact on predators, and many of those predators are in decline."

The multi-state Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission manages menhaden for the East Coast.

Robert Ballou, chair of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Menhaden Management Board, says his organization has been careful to base what he calls modest increases in the catch on assessments of fish stocks. He defends what he describes as the group’s conservative management strategy.

"Both of those increases have reflected the new information that's come out indicating that the stock is generally healthy condition," he states.








get more stories like this via email

more stories
Recipients of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Grant can now access funding to drive financing for thousands of climate-focused and clean energy initiatives. (bilanol/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Michigan's most vulnerable communities are receiving federal funding to fight the devastating effects of climate change. It's part of the $27 billion …


Health and Wellness

play sound

September is Health Literacy Month, and a Denver-based group is working to help health professionals break a persistent pattern of discrimination …

Environment

play sound

A new report contends fossil fuel funding has biased Columbia University's climate research. The report, by two Columbia students, shows the …


Alabama releases roughly 220,279 men and 78,247 women from its prisons and jails each year. (Chad Robertson/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An Alabama woman is on a mission to help people who've been incarcerated for decades successfully transition back into society. The mission to …

Health and Wellness

play sound

In North Carolina, the gap between Medicaid reimbursement rates and the actual cost of dental care has reached a crisis point, impacting both …

So far in 2024, community health centers in North Dakota have screened 11,580 patients for food insecurity. Through those screenings, more than three thousand box meals have been distributed. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

September is Hunger Action Month. In North Dakota, it isn't just food banks trying to help underserved populations get nutritious items. Health …

Environment

play sound

Marine biologists conducting deep dives near five California islands are collecting data they hope will strengthen the case for ending gillnet fishing…

Environment

play sound

Researchers at Iowa State University are taking aim at the huge amount of energy used by data centers, now and in the future. They have developed a …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021