Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The beauty of menhaden......the most important fish in the sea.
Remember, just a few years ago seeing whales and dolphins at the beach every day here in the Hamptons? How quick that has changed in just 2 years!
I have been flying the beaches from Montauk to Southampton in search of these schools and documenting multiple variables for years. As a visual observer in the 2025 season with just 95 good weather days I spotted small random schools of menhaden on only 24 days! In 2023, with 104 good weather days I spotted massive schools lining the coast of menhaden on 74 days! This is a drastic decline visually. I am not arrogant enough to claim my observations are scientific proof of anything, but recent numbers show consistency in my documentation.
My future success in fine art marine life drone photography is very much dependent on the Atlantic menhaden population. These small forage fish fuel the predators sought by aerial photographers, as well as whales, dolphins, ospreys, and many other species integral to a thriving food chain along our coast.
Last week, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission released the 2025 Atlantic Menhaden Ecological Reference Point Stock Assessment Report, which sets the stage for how Atlantic menhaden will be managed for the next few years. The update indicates that the coastwide menhaden biomass is lower than previously estimated and resulting projections now suggest cutting the coastwide catch limit by more than 50 percent.
Bunker aka menhaden have a very dear place in my heart. My motherly instincts come full force with a desire to take these gorgeous little fish under my wings for protection.....so, I am asking for your help, just 60 seconds out of your day to sign the CALL FOR ACTION through TRCP here:
trcp.org/action-alert/insist-on-reducing-atlantic-menhaden-catch-to-protect-striped-bass
The beauty of menhaden......the most important fish in the sea.
Remember, just a few years ago seeing whales and dolphins at the beach every day here in the Hamptons? How quick that has changed in just 2 years!
I have been flying the beaches from Montauk to Southampton in search of these schools and documenting multiple variables for years. As a visual observer in the 2025 season with just 95 good weather days I spotted small random schools of menhaden on only 24 days! In 2023, with 104 good weather days I spotted massive schools lining the coast of menhaden on 74 days! This is a drastic decline visually. I am not arrogant enough to claim my observations are scientific proof of anything, but recent numbers show consistency in my documentation.
My future success in fine art marine life drone photography is very much dependent on the Atlantic menhaden population. These small forage fish fuel the predators sought by aerial photographers, as well as whales, dolphins, ospreys, and many other species integral to a thriving food chain along our coast.
Last week, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission released the 2025 Atlantic Menhaden Ecological Reference Point Stock Assessment Report, which sets the stage for how Atlantic menhaden will be managed for the next few years. The update indicates that the coastwide menhaden biomass is lower than previously estimated and resulting projections now suggest cutting the coastwide catch limit by more than 50 percent.
Bunker aka menhaden have a very dear place in my heart. My motherly instincts come full force with a desire to take these gorgeous little fish under my wings for protection.....so, I am asking for your help, just 60 seconds out of your day to sign the CALL FOR ACTION through TRCP here:
trcp.org/action-alert/insist-on-reducing-atlantic-menhaden-catch-to-protect-striped-bass
