The move meant that quota determinations for menhaden – a forage species for a variety of ocean predators on the Atlantic coast of the U.S. – would be based on ERPs. The final quota decision will now be made based on the availability of the stock, and on the influence it has on the predatory species that consume menhaden as a primary food source. The move was welcomed by both environmental groups and industry members. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, one of the nonprofits that had pushed for ERPs to be considered in setting the quota, applauded the new quota system as a “first step to formally considering the importance of menhaden to other predators, including striped bass, bluefish, and weakfish.”