Hardly 48 Hours to Save a Keystone Fish Species

The following email notification from Save Our Environment urges on all caring people to help save the endangered keystone species of fish called menhaden.

~ ~ ~ 

A menhaden doesn't look like much – about a foot long and weighing just a pound – but they're perhaps the most important fish in North America, and they're under extreme danger.

Menhaden populations have plummeted 90 percent over the past 25 years and remain at an all-time low. These small fish are a keystone species: as prey for larger animals, menhaden decline threatens to disrupt coastal and marine food webs and affect the thousands of fishing, whale-watching, and bird-watching businesses that menhaden help support.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has the power to make decisions that are critical to the recovery of Atlantic menhaden and the ocean wildlife that depend on them for food. Right now they are accepting public comments regarding menhaden fishery, but only until 5:00 pm EST tomorrow. We need you to take a moment right now to let the commission know that it's time to protect life in the Atlantic.

Send a letter by the November 16th deadline to the ASMFC to urge them to modernize menhaden fishery.

In a landmark move last year, East Coast fishery managers – responding to a plea for action by more than 90,000 people like you – already committed to advancing new protections for Atlantic menhaden. But we need to make sure these plans become real improvements in the water.

The most crucial element is to take steps to guarantee more menhaden in the ocean to promote their recovery. Despite their importance, right now there is no limit on the total amount of menhaden that can be caught at sea. Every year, hundreds of millions of them are ground up to make fertilizer; fish meal for farm animals, pets, and aquaculture; and oil for dietary supplements.

The ASMFC has a chance to make the historic decision to bring menhaden fishery into the modern era, and in the process save thousands of animals. Send them your message right now, before it's too late.

Thank you again for everything you do to protect our environment.

Sincerely,

Mike Town

Director, SaveOurEnvironment.org