Atlantic menhaden. Photo courtesy Chesapeake Bay Program According to the Bay Journal, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) voted to allow a 6.5 percent increase in the harvest of menhaden (also known as bunker) at the end of October. Menhaden are used to make animal meal and health supplements and are also a bait of choice for crabs, striped bass, and other fish. They are one of the most important food sources for larger predators, including bluefish, weakfish, striped bass, sharks, mackerels, and fish-eating seabirds and mammals. Whether or not to increase the catch limit on menhaden has been a source of heated debate for several years. In 2012, the ASMFC cut the menhaden catch by 20 percent coastwide (Maine to Florida) after a stock assessment indicated the population was overfished. A new study last year found that menhaden were not actually overfished. Commericial fishing interests have since pushed for an increase of at least 20 percent. Conservationists on the other hand want more time for the stock to rebuild. They want the fisheries panel to "first figure out how many menhaden are needed as food for other fish and then look at reallocating the commercial harvest to spread the catch around more." At the center of the debate is Omega Protein Corp., which nets three-fourths of all menhaden caught coastwide. The company processes the menhaden into meal and fish oil at a plant in Reedville, VA. Conservation groups are disappointed that the commission had approved any increase, while fishing interests like Omega Protein called the size of the increase "a little disappointing," though they also praised the commission for restoring some of the catch allowance lost in 2012. The increase brought back two vessels (which were left idle) and 24 workers who were layed off. Click to bayjournal.com for more on the story. For more info on Atlantic Menhaden, click to chesapeakebay.net.