Apparently there are some questions about the menhaden possession limits. I got this from the Director of Marine Fisheries:

I have already received a question about menhaden possession that we need to address. The intent of the measure is to limit “take”. I could have been more careful in the wording of the Declaration (as we are being in drafting the formal regulation) to distinguish between take and possession.

We are not trying to prevent possession of larger quantities of frozen, ground up or other obviously long dead menhaden from being possessed. This will require a little Officer discretion as to what is fresh and what is “day old”. Given that 26-142a licensed fishermen are exempt I would think the only legal and practical way to catch more than a handful of menhaden under a MWFL would be with a cast net. Possession of that gear along with condition of the fish ought to be enough for law enforcement.