Mike[_4_]
June 29th, 2007, 06:42 PM
Two schools of thought
June 27, 2007
By Elizabeth Miller
THE WASHINGTON TIMES - The battle between the fishing industry and
conservationists over the depletion of marine life is nothing new, but
historian H. Bruce Franklin says things are different this time.
Mr. Franklin says the overfishing of menhaden by industrial and
commercial fishermen along U.S. coasts is depleting the species,
having devastating effects on coastal ecosystems, especially
Chesapeake Bay.
Some researchers deny that the species is headed toward extinction and
say the controversy is resulting in major changes in the way fisheries
are studied.
Menhaden, a small, silver fish also known as a "pogy," provided $62.5
million in profits to U.S. fishermen in 2005, according to the
National Marine Fisheries Service.
Because of their high oil content, they often are reduced in factories
to fish oil, fish meal and bait. Products of the reductions also
include livestock and pet food, water-resistant paint and cosmetics.
Besides reeling in high profits, menhaden are vital to keeping many
ecosystems healthy and clean by eating toxic algae and providing an
important food source for bigger fish.
The depletion of once-healthy ecosystems and the loss of menhaden can
be attributed to one company, Omega Protein, said Mr. Franklin, author
of a book about menhaden, "The Most Important Fish in the Sea."
"The Omega Protein company has a total monopoly on the reduction
fishery in the Atlantic. In the Gulf there's one competitor, but the
majority of the industry is by Omega," Mr. Franklin said.
Omega Protein, based in Houston, reduces menhaden into animal feed,
fertilizer and oil, and is "used in everything from linoleum to health-
food supplements," he said.
At one time, Mr. Franklin said, 100 companies were engaged in the
reduction industry but most have "fished themselves into extinction."
Ben Landry, deputy director of governmental affairs for Omega Protein,
said the company is not overfishing and is committed to maintaining a
stable menhaden population.
"Omega Protein is very committed to maintaining a stable menhaden
population. That's where our product comes from, and we follow the
best available government regulations," Mr. Landry said. "The key
contention of the book is that menhaden is being overfished, but all
government scientists will repeatedly contend that menhaden are not
overfished."
Joseph Smith, a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service,
said, "Based on the most recent coastal stock assessment that was done
on Atlantic menhaden in 2006 with data through 2005, the bottom line
is menhaden are not overfished."
Mr. Smith works in a North Carolina lab that studies menhaden along
the coast. The lab provides data for and writes the stock assessment
reports produced by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission,
the official body appointed by Congress in the 1940s to study and
protect menhaden and 21 other species of Atlantic fish.
Bill Goldsborough, director of the fisheries program at the Chesapeake
Bay Foundation, said a lot of the menhaden caught by fishermen come
from the Bay, making it a good place to study the species.
"I think there is little debate over the fact that menhaden are
critical to the ecology of Chesapeake Bay, both in their filter
feeding and therefore nitrogen removal and ... in terms of their role
as predatory fish," Mr. Goldsborough said.
Mr. Smith said it's hard to determine the menhaden population in the
Bay.
"If Chesapeake Bay were a farm pond we might be able to answer some of
the questions [Mr. Franklin] and others pose, but Chesapeake Bay is
open to the ocean and the menhaden come and go in and out of the Bay,"
Mr. Smith said.
One of the easiest ways to study menhaden is to study other fish in
the Bay that prey on menhaden, Mr. Goldsborough said.
"Striped bass depends heavily on menhaden, with as much as 80 to 90
percent of their diet," he said. "The percentage of menhaden in their
diet has gone down tremendously, with lowest estimates at 20
percent."
"We have all these pieces of information that are showing red flags
but none of them specifically show cause and effect," Mr. Goldsborough
said.
The question of just how many menhaden are in the Bay is a $64,000
question, Mr. Smith said. "There are some research studies going on
now that are trying to get at those answers," he said.
Mr. Smith said one study uses airplanes that send low-intensity laser
beams into the water to estimate the number of schools. He said this
method has proved effective only in clear water and the Bay is far
from clear.
"We need to manage fisheries not on a single species, but in a single
ecosystem approach," Mr. Goldsborough said.
He said the Bay's main focus is to improve research to ensure accurate
data and tools to produce clear results.
"That's what we hope: The research will give them the tools they need
to switch to these kinds of studies."
June 27, 2007
By Elizabeth Miller
THE WASHINGTON TIMES - The battle between the fishing industry and
conservationists over the depletion of marine life is nothing new, but
historian H. Bruce Franklin says things are different this time.
Mr. Franklin says the overfishing of menhaden by industrial and
commercial fishermen along U.S. coasts is depleting the species,
having devastating effects on coastal ecosystems, especially
Chesapeake Bay.
Some researchers deny that the species is headed toward extinction and
say the controversy is resulting in major changes in the way fisheries
are studied.
Menhaden, a small, silver fish also known as a "pogy," provided $62.5
million in profits to U.S. fishermen in 2005, according to the
National Marine Fisheries Service.
Because of their high oil content, they often are reduced in factories
to fish oil, fish meal and bait. Products of the reductions also
include livestock and pet food, water-resistant paint and cosmetics.
Besides reeling in high profits, menhaden are vital to keeping many
ecosystems healthy and clean by eating toxic algae and providing an
important food source for bigger fish.
The depletion of once-healthy ecosystems and the loss of menhaden can
be attributed to one company, Omega Protein, said Mr. Franklin, author
of a book about menhaden, "The Most Important Fish in the Sea."
"The Omega Protein company has a total monopoly on the reduction
fishery in the Atlantic. In the Gulf there's one competitor, but the
majority of the industry is by Omega," Mr. Franklin said.
Omega Protein, based in Houston, reduces menhaden into animal feed,
fertilizer and oil, and is "used in everything from linoleum to health-
food supplements," he said.
At one time, Mr. Franklin said, 100 companies were engaged in the
reduction industry but most have "fished themselves into extinction."
Ben Landry, deputy director of governmental affairs for Omega Protein,
said the company is not overfishing and is committed to maintaining a
stable menhaden population.
"Omega Protein is very committed to maintaining a stable menhaden
population. That's where our product comes from, and we follow the
best available government regulations," Mr. Landry said. "The key
contention of the book is that menhaden is being overfished, but all
government scientists will repeatedly contend that menhaden are not
overfished."
Joseph Smith, a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service,
said, "Based on the most recent coastal stock assessment that was done
on Atlantic menhaden in 2006 with data through 2005, the bottom line
is menhaden are not overfished."
Mr. Smith works in a North Carolina lab that studies menhaden along
the coast. The lab provides data for and writes the stock assessment
reports produced by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission,
the official body appointed by Congress in the 1940s to study and
protect menhaden and 21 other species of Atlantic fish.
Bill Goldsborough, director of the fisheries program at the Chesapeake
Bay Foundation, said a lot of the menhaden caught by fishermen come
from the Bay, making it a good place to study the species.
"I think there is little debate over the fact that menhaden are
critical to the ecology of Chesapeake Bay, both in their filter
feeding and therefore nitrogen removal and ... in terms of their role
as predatory fish," Mr. Goldsborough said.
Mr. Smith said it's hard to determine the menhaden population in the
Bay.
"If Chesapeake Bay were a farm pond we might be able to answer some of
the questions [Mr. Franklin] and others pose, but Chesapeake Bay is
open to the ocean and the menhaden come and go in and out of the Bay,"
Mr. Smith said.
One of the easiest ways to study menhaden is to study other fish in
the Bay that prey on menhaden, Mr. Goldsborough said.
"Striped bass depends heavily on menhaden, with as much as 80 to 90
percent of their diet," he said. "The percentage of menhaden in their
diet has gone down tremendously, with lowest estimates at 20
percent."
"We have all these pieces of information that are showing red flags
but none of them specifically show cause and effect," Mr. Goldsborough
said.
The question of just how many menhaden are in the Bay is a $64,000
question, Mr. Smith said. "There are some research studies going on
now that are trying to get at those answers," he said.
Mr. Smith said one study uses airplanes that send low-intensity laser
beams into the water to estimate the number of schools. He said this
method has proved effective only in clear water and the Bay is far
from clear.
"We need to manage fisheries not on a single species, but in a single
ecosystem approach," Mr. Goldsborough said.
He said the Bay's main focus is to improve research to ensure accurate
data and tools to produce clear results.
"That's what we hope: The research will give them the tools they need
to switch to these kinds of studies."