A multistate fishery panel this week took the first step toward reducing the number of Atlantic menhaden that can be taken by commercial fishermen.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Atlantic Menhaden Management Board, meeting in Boston, approved a target for the fishery that would leave 15 percent of egg-laying menhaden in the water, and a long-term goal for the fishery to leave 30 percent of spawning stock out of nets.

Toni Kerns, senior fishery management plan coordinator for the commission, said the fishery leaves about 8 percent of spawning stock. Menhaden are harvested mainly for Virginia plants that process them into fish oil, fish meal, fertilizer and other products. There is a small Connecticut menhaden fishery for bait markets.

Menhaden are considered one of about a half-dozen important forage fish that form the base of the marine food chain in Long Island Sound and other coastal Atlantic waters.

The board's action was praised by the Pew Environmental Group, which is leading a campaign to reduce overfishing of menhaden, calling them "the most important fish in the sea" in a news release this week.

"Scientists have warned that having too few menhaden in the water could result in disastrous impacts on the fish and wildlife that eat them," said Peter Baker, director of northeast fisheries at Pew.

Kerns said the next step will be to develop management tools that will be used to achieve the goal of "providing greater protection for spawning adults to increase their abundance, recruitment and fish for forage." A plan will be developed that would achieve the targets over multiple years, she said. The panel will meet in February to consider various ways of achieving the goals.

"How it's going to impact the fishery is unknown," she added.

Menhaden can begin spawning at one year old, but most reach maximum reproductive maturity at age two to five years old, Kerns said.

- Judy Benson