The fat fish begins to disappear - and the US is already feeling the consequences

The osprey population on the US East Coast faces an existential crisis after recording its worst-ever breeding season in the Chesapeake Bay. At the center of the crisis is the Atlantic menhaden, extracted from the sea in massive quantities by the commercial fishing industry. Researchers find starving chicks and empty nests, warning that the population could halve within a decade.

The osprey population along the US East Coast is facing an existential crisis after decades of recovery from the DDT era. Researchers from William & Mary University documented this year the worst breeding season ever in the Chesapeake Bay, which was previously home to the world's largest osprey population. Surveys found starving, emaciated chicks in their nests, and many nests were completely empty. Of 2,886 pairs surveyed across ten US states, only 28 percent of saltwater areas produced enough chicks to sustain the population. At the center of the ecological crisis is the Atlantic menhaden, the ospreys' primary food source. In saltwater areas, where birds are entirely dependent on these fish, 81 percent of bird pairs failed to raise even a single chick in 2026. The disappearance of the fish has led to a direct confrontation between environmental organizations and recreational fishermen against the commercial fishing industry. Criticism is primarily directed at Omega Protein, which operates the last plant on the Atlantic coast that processes menhaden into fishmeal and oil. The company's fleet extracted about 136 million kg of menhaden in 2024 alone, using massive ships. While local fishermen and experts demand cutting fishing quotas in half, Omega rejects the claims, arguing that science has yet to prove a direct link between industrial fishing and bird starvation. Researchers estimate that if the trend continues, the osprey population in the bay will halve within a decade.