Pew Environment Group alert- vote for Menhaden!

Click link to fill out the voter comment form: https://secure3.convio.net/pew/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1554

Vote for Menhaden!  The comment period for this alert closes on November 16th.

Fishery managers need to hear from you! Let them know you vote for recovery NOW for the most important fish in the sea.

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

Menhaden populations have plummeted 90 percent over the past 25 years and remain at an all-time low—just 10 percent of historic levels. Because these small fish are prey for larger animals, this 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.

We need to leave more menhaden in the ocean to promote their recovery. There is no limit on the total amount of these fish 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.

On Dec. 14, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will make decisions that are critical to the recovery of Atlantic menhaden and the ocean wildlife that depends on them for food.Let the commission know that it’s time to bring the menhaden fishery into the 21^st century.