Our Blog: From the Waterfront

Unmanaged Forage Fish: Does Optimum Yield Equal Zero?

Unmanaged Forage Fish: Does Optimum Yield Equal Zero?

Fisheries managers are finally paying attention to forage fish, the myriad species of small fish, squid and crustaceans that the predators need to survive. At the federal level, the Pacific Fishery Management Council got the ball rolling with its Comprehensive Ecosystem-Based Amendment 1: Protecting Unfished and Unmanaged Forage Fish Species. That Amendment would prevent the […]

New England Cod: Victims of Uncertainty

New England Cod: Victims of Uncertainty

On Georges Bank and in the Gulf of Maine, cod stocks have collapsed. A stock assessment update released in October 2015 found that the Gulf of Maine stock was experiencing a fishing mortality rate five times the sustainable level, while abundance had fallen to just 5% of the biomass target. The Georges Bank stock is […]

Pass The Menhaden, Please!

Pass The Menhaden, Please!

This blog post appears as part of our “Focus on Forage Fish” series, which highlights the importance of managing prey species for ocean ecosystems. For those who think allocating Atlantic menhaden and other key prey species between fisheries and predators, without the use of highly-complex ecosystem models, would be “arbitrary,” think of it instead the […]

Pacific Council Finishes Precautionary Plan to Protect Unmanaged Forage

Pacific Council Finishes Precautionary Plan to Protect Unmanaged Forage

This blog post appears as part of our “Focus on Forage Fish” series, which highlights the importance of managing prey species for ocean ecosystems. In September 2015, I attended the Pacific Fishery Management Council in Sacramento to celebrate the Council’s completion of their first ecosystem-based amendment, three years in the making, which will protect unmanaged […]