In a vote yesterday, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) agreed to set more stringent standards for menhaden, a fish many experts refer to as “the most important fish in the sea.”

The Pew Environmental Group conducted a two-month advocacy campaign, directing the bulk of their ads on the subject to Connecticut, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island -- states that have a real stake in the fishing industry. Radio and print ads have urged people to contact their governors and urge them to support more stringent catch standards for the species.

Menhaden, though not a fish regularly found on dinner plates, is important to the ecosystem and the economy, say experts.

Ken Hinman, president of the National Coalition for Marine Conservation, said menhaden are the prey for whales, osprey and larger predatory fish. In addition to being a staple in the food chain, menhaden are also processed for cat food, fertilizer and bait.

However, a reduction in the number of menhaden is causing what Hinman and other experts are calling a “crisis.”

“We’re often accused of using the word “crisis” too loosely, but I think it’s an apt description of what we’re dealing with here,” he said.

Hinman said that menhaden used to account for roughly 50 to 75 percent of the diet for striped bass. Now, they make up only 8 percent of the striped bass diet. Hinman said when the bass cannot find menhaden, they resort to other types of fish, that are prey for other species. This results in “kinks” in the food chain.

Hinman said yesterday’s decision will have a great impact on many other species.

“This will affect not just the future of menhaden, but striped bass, osprey and other seabirds; whales; and many Atlantic fisheries, commercial and recreational.”

Christine Hunsinger, spokeswoman for Governor Chafee, said last week that Chafee was very aware of the menhaden issue, and supportive of Pew’s stance.

“We’re all over it,” she said.

The new standards hope to quadruple the dwindling stock of menhaden. They said the fishery has exceeded the safe fishing target. The standards haven’t been modified since the 1960s, and the menhaden stock slipped through the cracks.

“Now the [menhaden] population is somewhere less than 10 percent of what it was historically [in the 1950s]. It’s probably far less than that,” said John Crawford, science and policy manager for the Pew Environment Group’s Northeast Fisheries Program. “Back in the 1800s there was something like 5 million tons along our coastline and now we’re down below 1 million tons.”

Crawford said it’s not just about the amount of fish in the water, but the types of fish within the population.

“There are other more subtle and often overlooked dimensions to this ... with menhaden there are very few of the older fish,” he said. “The fish don’t survive to an older age, and when you eliminate the older fish from the population, it seriously affects the population’s ability to rebuild itself.”

Crawford said older females and repeat spawners help to grow the population most. He said the threshold at which menhaden can be fished should be drastically cut, which would allow the population to mature and reproduce.

“As we back off on our fishing we can allow the spawning stock to grow ... we’ll see more older fish and we’ll see the population grow.”

Ken Hinman, president of the National Coalition for Marine Conservation, said there have not been coast-wide limits set on the amount of menhaden fisheries can catch.

“The menhaden catch coast-wide can go as high as the industry is able to catch,” he said.

Crawford explained that menhaden are in the herring family, and like river herring, are being depleted in many areas of the coast.

Hinman and others were hopeful for the maximum reduction in catch.

“I’m in favor of [a] 40 percent option because that is the emerging minimum standard for preserving a forage fish this important to the eco system,” said Hinman. “Thirty percent is the absolute minimum.”

The ASMFC agreed on 30 percent but Pew still welcomed the change.

“Today’s vote is a welcome step for a fish that hasn’t caught a break since Dwight Eisenhower was president,” said Peter Baker, director of Northeast Fisheries at the Pew Environment Group, yesterday in a statement. “Today’s decision marks a watershed moment, where the ASMFC embraced the challenge of managing the entire ecosystem, not just one species. We look forward to working with the Commission to establish new rules that enforce these targets.”

The new policy will go into effect in 2013, and from there, officials will follow up on specific regions and populations, and develop management measures especially for them.

Experts say it's difficult to put a timeframe on how soon the population will respond but they hope they will see an increase within the next generation, or about 3 to 5 years.