LEWES, Del. (AP) - A regional fisheries oversight body is proposing changes to the interstate fishery management plan for Atlantic menhaden.
A hearing was planned Wednesday night at the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control field office in Lewes on the proposal by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
Officials say the revision is needed because a panel found in 2010 that menhaden population abundance had declined steadily and recruitment had been low since the last peak observed in the early 1980s.
The panel recommended alternative reference points be considered to provide greater protection against over fishing.
Other species such as striped bass and tuna feed on menhaden, but the tiny fish also are processed into fish oil, animal feed and other products.
