A Tiny Fish in Mighty Big Trouble

In the waters of the Chesapeake Bay, there lives a tiny fish near the bottom of the food chain. It's name is Menhaden. The bay was once teeming with the tiny menhaden, until factory fishing giant Omega Protein Corporation began vacuuming this tiny fish out of existence. But if the menhaden disappears, so could every animal that depends on it to survive - all the way up to the mighty whale.

Take Action >> The Menhaden is a tiny example of an enormous problem. It's time to stop letting corporate giants like Omega decide the future of our oceans.

Text of petition:

I urge the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to establish an immediate moratorium on the industrial menhaden purse seine fishery in the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic coastal waters.

Menhaden, like other prey fish, fill many key ecological roles, most importantly as a critical source of food for fish and other wildlife.  As plankton-eating filter feeders, menhaden also help improve water quality, an invaluable service in many bays and estuaries. Coastal menhaden populations have experienced an overall decline for more than 20 years and are currently at near record lows.

For generations, fishermen and communities all along the Atlantic coast have depended on abundant stocks of menhaden.  Menhaden populations must be restored to sufficient levels to enable them to fulfill their important ecological roles and to support the coastal communities whose economies rely on healthy marine ecosystems and abundant fish stocks.

Given the severe decline of menhaden populations and the ecological functions they perform, precautionary measures are urgently needed.  Please implement an immediate moratorium on the industrial menhaden purse seine fishery.