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On Tuesday, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board approved a 20-percent reduction of the coast-wide quota for the important lobster bait species, from 233,550 metric tons to 186,840 metric tons for 2026.

The Board will address the quota for 2027 and 2028 during the ASMFC annual meeting next Fall.

While the population is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring, the objective of the quota decrease is to reduce fishing mortality for menhaden and to protect other species like striped bass which feed on menhaden.

Other motions included a reduction of up to 54 percent.

As a result of the Board’s action, Maine's portion of the Atlantic Menhaden quota will decline from more than 24 million pounds to under 20 million pounds in 2026.

This reduction, while less drastic than what was also proposed, will still have a major impact on menhaden harvesters and Maine’s lobster fishermen who are faced with many other challenges as well.

While Atlantic menhaden are a crucial forage species in the Atlantic coastal ecosystem, they also support a critically important industry of hard-working menhaden and lobster fishermen.

Maine will continue to work with industry to develop regulations that spread this quota out over time to support access to bait for our lobster fishermen when they need it. We will also continue to work with other states to request quota transfers that support the need for this vital bait here in Maine.

Carl Wilson
Commissioner
Maine Department of Marine Resources

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This email was sent to [email protected] using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: Maine Department of Marine Resources · 21 State House Station · Augusta, ME 04333-0021· 207-624-6550