This fall, officials have moved to change regulations regarding the commercial menhaden fishing industry on both the East Coast and the Gulf Coast. The actions have highlighted serious and ongoing strains between the menhaden fishing companies and recreational anglers, who worry about the impacts that the fishery has on sport fish populations.
Menhaden, or pogy, is a baitfish similar to herring, shad, and sardines. While sport anglers do not pursue the fish, the species is a foundational forage item for some of the most popular saltwater gamefish in the world: redfish in the Gulf Coast and stripers in the East Coast and Chesapeake Bay.
Meanwhile, the menhaden industry is an extractive commercial fishery that historically hasn’t been well-regulated compared to other commercial fisheries. Menhaden businesses, some of which are foreign-controlled, harvest hundreds of millions of pounds of the fish each year. According to the NOAA, the bulk of that catch is used to produce “fertilizers, animal feed, and bait,” as well as omega-3 supplements.
Beyond the direct impact of the reduction of menhaden, scientists and conservation groups worry about the impacts of bycatch on other fish species because of the use of purse seines, which involve using nets to capture schools of fish. Furthermore, menhaden boats can push anglers off of their favored spots and have been known to accidentally spill millions of dead fish into the water.
Louisiana May Pull Back Recent Restrictions
In Louisiana, amid an ongoing decline of redfish numbers, recent research has shown that the menhaden industry kills over 22,000 mature redfish each year as bycatch. The state’s recreational anglers and captains have pushed for restrictions on the menhaden industry. Particularly, conservation groups and anglers advocated for a “buffer zone” for menhaden boats to prevent near-shore fish spills, limit any potential impact of purse seines on shallow-water seafloors, and reduce conflicts with recreational anglers. In 2024, a compromise was reached, and the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (LWFC) instituted a half-mile buffer for menhaden boats, less than the 1-mile buffer conservationists pushed for but still significant.
“The buffer has been in place for two fishing seasons,” Chris Macaluso, director of fisheries for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, told MeatEater. He notes that while the regulation didn’t impose a cap on menhaden harvest, which many conservationists consider necessary, it has made a difference. “As our organization has noted, the buffer has resulted in a 74% decrease in fish spills winding up on our beaches. It isn’t a perfect situation, but it did relieve some of the user conflicts between recreational boats trying to fish near the beach and pogie boats coming right on top of them.”
However, at a meeting last week, the LWFC moved to reduce the buffer zone in half at the behest of the menhaden industry. The proposed policy, which narrowly passed the commission’s vote, would reduce the buffer zone to ¼ mile for much of the state’s coastline.
“This did not come from the department’s staff—from the biologists and fisheries managers,” Macaluso said. “It came from the governor’s office. It came from political appointments on the LWFC. They were heavily influenced by the menhaden industry to make this decision.”
Macaluso and other opponents of the regulation change argue that the menhaden industry has continued to do well with the current buffer zone and don’t see the need to reduce it. “In 2024, their catch rate was down,” he said. “But they were also hampered by a lot of hurricanes and bad weather. This year, they’re going to catch a hundred million pounds more fish and nothing changed other than the weather improving. But they claim they’re not doing as well as they could be doing—making as much money as they could be making.”
“You are giving this industry a billion fish a year, and the message here today is: ‘That’s not enough,’” said Charlie Caplinger, CEO of the Coastal Conservation Association of Louisiana, at the recent LWCF meeting, as reported by the Louisiana Illuminator.
The proposed regulation change is subject to a 35-day public comment period, which will extend from December 19 to January 23. Following that period, the LWFC will decide on the proposal’s fate. The Louisiana Legislature’s Natural Resources Committee could also intervene.
“Sportsmen overwhelmingly commented in support of the original buffer zone, and I think they’re ready to comment again,” Macaluso said. “I would encourage sportsmen and people concerned about this to also talk to their legislators.”
East Coast Menhaden Harvest Capped—But is it Enough?
The menhaden industry on the East Coast is also facing a regulatory shakeup. On October 28, the Atlantic Menhaden Management Board voted to reduce the number of fish that menhaden boats are allowed to take by 20%, or 86,840 metric tons. Unlike in Louisiana, the harvest of Atlantic Menhaden has been capped since the mid-2000s. Subsequently, any changes to the cap have been met with fierce conflict between the menhaden industry and conservation groups.
This year, the Atlantic Menhaden Management Board is responding to a 2025 Atlantic Menhaden Stock Assessment showing that while the species is not technically being overfished, its reproduction thresholds aren’t being met. The report indicated that the take of the species may need to be reduced by over 50% to limit the impact on striped bass populations. Proposals were put forward both to immediately cut the quota by 50% and to start with a 20% cut in 2026 before gradually increasing it.
Instead, the Atlantic Menhaden Management Board instituted a 20% cap for 2026 and plans to revisit the issue next year. The cut is slightly more than the menhaden industry proposed and significantly less than many conservation groups pushed for. “We recognize that taking a 20% cut is a step in the right direction,” says Macaluso. “But it was still a disappointing decision for a lot of people because they believed the best science showed a 50% cut was needed.”
“Our understanding of menhaden as a species and of the ecosystem suggests that we need to take a reduction, not just a small reduction, a significant reduction,” Caitlin Craig, of New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, said, as reported by The Virginia Mercury. “I would encourage this board to think, just as we were confident in increasing the total allowable catch when the science says we should, that we need to be as willing to take reductions when the science indicates that that’s warranted as well.”
A Final Word on the Broader Menhaden Industry
The recent proposed and enacted regulatory changes on the Gulf and East coasts underscore the ongoing divide between commercial menhaden companies, conservation groups, and recreational anglers. While some of the changes may be disheartening for striped bass and redfish anglers, Macaluso says that it’s not cause for despair—yet.
“In the grand scheme of the fishery as a whole—if you look back 30, 40, 50 years—we’re in a better place now than we were then,” he says. “We know much more about this fishery scientifically…These are slight setbacks, but we’re going to continue to move forward in advocating for conservation- and science-based management of the fishery.”
Want to learn more about menhaden? Check out these recent episodes of Backwoods University: Pogie Boats and Menhaden Fishery Representative.
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