Northern anchovies are among the most important forage fish in the U.S. Pacific Ocean. More than 50 species of marine wildlife in the California Current ecosystem depend on them, including seabirds, larger fish such as salmon and tuna, and marine mammals like humpback whales and sea lions.
Act Now: Ask fishery managers to adopt science-based catch limits that protect anchovies and their predators
Fishing catch limits for the West Coast’s anchovy fishery have remained the same since the 1990s, when numbers were much higher. Scientific studies indicate that the stock’s central subpopulation, found off California, was in a collapsed condition as recently as 2015.
Managers can ensure a healthier ocean by considering the whole ecosystem when making decisions about how much fish can be caught. Science-based catch limits that account for the status of the stock as well as the needs of dependent predators will help guarantee that anchovies are plentiful enough to fulfill their crucial role in the Pacific food web.
Add your name today and call on the Pacific Fishery Management Council to protect anchovies and the marine wildlife that depend on them.
Subject: Please protect anchovies and the marine wildlife that depend on them
Dear Chair Anderson and Council Members:
I am writing to ask the Pacific Fishery Management Council to adopt an ecosystem-based approach to managing northern anchovy. As you know, northern anchovies are among the most important forage fish in the Pacific Ocean, but existing management of the stock is based on decades-old information. True ecosystem-based management of this fishery requires that catch limits and other measures are based on the best available science, and are responsive and adaptive to changing environmental conditions.
Northern anchovies are too important to other fisheries and the broader marine ecosystem to be managed passively. Only by ensuring that management of this essential forage fish is based on the best available science, and considers the broader marine ecosystem, can this Council can help maintain both a healthy ocean and productive and sustainable fisheries. For these reasons, I encourage you to act.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
