02/15/2026
MAKE AMERICA FISH AGAIN: RESTORATION OF THE US FISHING INDUSTRY
Below is the Executive Summary of a letter of I am sending to Ms. Susie Wiles, White House Chief of Staff today, February 15, 2026.
Executive Summary
Omega Protein is overharvesting Atlantic menhaden in US waters. Overharvesting of menhaden results in the starvation of economically important predator fish like striped bass, and birds like osprey which are dependent on menhaden for their survival. When there are insufficient menhaden in the marine ecosystem, striped bass and osprey starve to death.
Overharvesting menhaden has resulted in billions of dollars of lost revenue and thousands of jobs in the US fishing industry for both commercial bait fishermen and recreational fishermen. It has also led to an ecological disaster along the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of America.
Omega Protein is a subsidiary of Cooke, Inc., an international corporation headquartered in Canada. Omega Protein is the last remaining industrial reduction fishery of Atlantic menhaden in US waters. The company uses aircraft to spot schools of fish and purse seines nets to encompass entire schools of fish. Products include Omega 3 fatty acids, fish oil, fish and animal feed, and fertilizer. Its customer base is international.
The US Commerce Department, through its Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Atlantic Menhaden Management Board (Board), has failed in its mission to protect the US fishing industry and the marine environment by ignoring the latest science and empirical data.
The solution to this problem is a Presidential Executive Order to end all industrial reduction harvesting of Atlantic menhaden in US waters, and establish a 108,500 metric ton total allowable catch limit on the Atlantic Coast in accordance with the Board’s technical committee recommendation of October 22, 2025.
This solution will not harm recreational fishermen, commercial bait fishermen, and commercial fishermen who harvest crabs, lobsters, and other predator consumables.
