The Fisherman's Jim Hutchinson Misrepresents Key Evidence and Attacks Respected New Jersey Scientist's ObjectivityWASHINGTON, D.C. / ACCESS Newswire / September 29, 2026 / In The Fisherman's September 24, 2026 NJ/DE Bay Region Fishing Forecast, New Jersey/Delaware Bay Edition Editor Jim Hutchinson, Jr. pressed for deeper Chesapeake Bay menhaden restrictions while repeating a broader narrative about the fishery that leaves out or conflicts with key parts of the scientific and management record. His report encourages viewers to see the reduction fishery as the cause of Maryland's bait fishery problems and as a central answer to striped bass concerns, while giving little weight to the current menhaden stock assessment, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC) ecological reference points, the history of the Bay Cap, the Commission's own scientific uncertainty, or analyses that challenge the so-called "gauntlet" theory.
