Bunker

With the recent resurgence of the Menhaden fishery in Atlantic waters, the State Legislature last week passed a bill to prohibit the taking of Menhaden by purse seine nets, to prevent depletion of the species.

Commercial fisherman have already landed at least 350,000 pounds of menhaden in the waters of the Peconic River, which Riverhead Supervisor Sean Walter hopes will prevent a bunker "bottleneck" and another massive die-off this spring.

Mahogany tide, responsible for last year’s historic bunker fish kills, is back in the Peconic River this spring, already matching last year's record levels despite cool water temperatures, and turning local waterways a murky reddish-brown.

With unusually large numbers of bunker fish appearing in the Peconic River this spring, commercial fishermen will be allowed to net bunker in an effort to prevent the massive bunker kills seen last year, thanks to a ruling announced today by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

Almost a year after the major fish kills in the Peconic Estuary last summer, bunker fish are being seen in large numbers in the river almost a month earlier than usual this spring.