Coalition unites recreational and small-scale commercial fishermen in opposition to industrial-scale fishing for small baitfish in U.S. waters

WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESS Newswire / May 29, 2026 / The Forage Fish Campaign officially launched as a national coalition focused on ensuring healthy marine ecosystems for fish, wildlife, and people by ending large-scale industrial commercial fishing, including reduction fishing, on forage fish, the foundation of marine ecosystems in the US and around the world.

The coalition brings together recreational and commercial fishing voices, outdoor recreation advocates, conservation leaders, small business owners, and policy stakeholders concerned about the growing economic and environmental impacts of industrial-scale reduction fishing and mid-water trawling operations targeting forage species such as menhaden, herring, and mackerel.

Leading the effort is Executive Director Whit Fosburgh, the longtime former president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and a nationally recognized voice on fisheries conservation and public resource stewardship.

The campaign argues that industrial-scale harvesting of forage fish is undermining the foundation of America's marine food chain while threatening the long-term health of commercial and recreational fisheries, working waterfront communities, tourism economies, and domestic fishing jobs.

"Forage fish are the backbone of healthy marine ecosystems and the fisheries that support countless American communities," said Fosburgh.

"When industrial operations remove massive quantities of these species from the ocean, the consequences ripple throughout the entire food web, impacting everything from the price of bait for lobstermen and crabbers, to striped bass, tuna, redfish, seabirds, marine mammals, and the coastal economies that depend on them."

The campaign is expected to focus heavily on the economic importance of healthy fisheries and the role forage fish play in sustaining broader marine ecosystems that support commercial fishing, recreational angling, tourism, boating, and waterfront businesses across the United States.

"America's fisheries support millions of jobs and generate hundreds of billions of dollars in economic activity every year," Fosburgh added. "Protecting forage fish is not simply a conservation issue. It is a matter of economic stewardship, food security, maintaining outdoor traditions and protecting the long-term future of American small boat fishermen and coastal communities."

"It's beyond time for the recreational and conservation communities to come together to end industrial-scale fishing on the forage base," said Jason Schratwieser, President of the International Game Fish Association. "Our coastal economy depends on healthy oceans."

The coalition plans to engage policymakers, coastal communities, business leaders, and conservation stakeholders around efforts to strengthen protections for forage species and address concerns surrounding industrial-scale fishing practices linked to large foreign-controlled fishing operations operating in and around U.S. waters.

"Many states along the Atlantic and Gulf have banned industrial harvest of forage fish - a practice that impacts valuable recreational and commercial species, from tarpon and striped bass to redfish and king mackerel," said Jim McDuffie, President and CEO of Bonefish & Tarpon Trust. "Continued harvest in those places where it's allowed is having far-reaching impacts on our fisheries at scale. We are calling on federal officials to protect the resource by putting an end to the practice, once and for all."

About the Forage Fish Campaign

The Forage Fish Campaign is a coalition of recreational and commercial fishermen, fishing communities, conservation advocates, and policy leaders working to protect America's marine ecosystems and coastal economies from the impacts of industrial-scale forage fishing.

CONTACT:

Sarah Shriver Smothers, publicist for Forage Fish Campaign
sarah@fordhamilton.com
757-876-1875

SOURCE: Forage Fish Campaign