The christening of two menhaden steamers came on the heels of the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration and Omega Protein.
The menhaden fishery has been on thin ice with Gov. Youngkin’s office since summer when there was an Omega Protein purse net tear resulting in thousands of dead fish washing up on the Chesapeake Bay shoreline. Virginia’s Kiptopeke State Park closed for recreational use during part of July, a peak month for beach tourism.
In response thousands of sport fishermen, waterfront landowners and representatives of the state’s tourism economy petitioned Gov. Youngkin to close the fishery down.
The Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) voted 5-4 in December 2022 to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Omega Protein and the bay’s menhaden bait fishery to ban fishing from around the Memorial Day, July 4 and Labor Day holidays.
The MOU also called for the fishery to collaborate with the governor’s office and General Assembly to maintain a buffer along the densely populated areas of the Eastern Shore, Chesapeake Bay and Virginia Beach region.
In January, Virginia Beach Delegate Tim Anderson introduced House Bill 1383 to shut down Virginia’s menhaden reduction fishery in all of the state’s territorial ocean waters and inland bay water for two years. The vote was 22-0 to table and “pass by indefinitely.”
The most recent MOU action between Omega Protein and the state administration was recently released by Ocean Harvesters and it states:
“Ocean Harvesters, the largest participant in Virginia’s historic menhaden fishery, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Commonwealth of Virginia and other menhaden fishing companies that will put new limits on menhaden fishing in the Chesapeake Bay. This MOU will limit potential sources of conflict between the fishery and other users of the bay and is part of the fishery’s efforts to continue to be responsible stewards of our shared marine resources.”
Ocean Harvesters has an exclusive, long-term supply agreement with Omega Protein of Reedville, which has operated continuously in the area since 1878.
“The new memorandum of understanding successfully addresses concerns that have been raised about how the menhaden fishery can best coexist with other user groups in the Bay,” said Monty Deihl, CEO of Ocean Harvesters. “This MOU further illustrates that the menhaden fishery will work with the bay community to alleviate concerns and to remain operating responsibly and sustainably here in Virginia.”
The MOU outlines areas within the bay where the fishery may only harvest in waters more than one mile from shore. These areas were identified as concentrated regions for tourists and other user groups around the bay. Specifically, the areas are offshore from the populated areas of Virginia’s lower Eastern Shore, and Hampton Roads/Virginia Beach.
Additionally, in response to feedback on how the fishery can best avoid conflicts with recreational fishing, the MOU will place new limits on the times and places where the menhaden fishery will operate. The MOU states that between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the fishery will not harvest menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay on weekends, nor on the Memorial or Labor Day holidays, nor on the days surrounding July 4th — the most popular time for summer tourism and recreational fishing.
The MOU further restricts the fishery from operating within a half mile of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel year-round. This will help the fishery avoid recreational boat traffic and any other potential issues and conflicts that might arise near the bridge.
The MOU continues the fishery’s longstanding mission of being responsible stewards of the Chesapeake Bay. It is another precaution for a fishery that has been a model for sustainable management. Several of the most knowledgeable and respected fisheries scientists and fisheries management experts in Virginia spoke on the state of the menhaden stock at the Virginia Marine Resources Commission’s (VMRC) December 2022 meeting.
A respected professor and VMRC biologist noted that “the coastwide stock is extremely healthy, by all accounts. If this were the result for any other resource on the East Coast or West Coast or in the world, we’d be celebrating.”
The senior fisheries management experts at VMRC concurred. One noted that menhaden has “much more conservative management than we often use for other species in the name of guarding the ecosystem.” And another stated “it’s a situation where we have a healthy stock. It’s not overfished,” adding “we have fisheries in our state here that are overfished and overfishing is occurring and we’re spending all our time dealing with menhaden.”
About Omega Protein
Omega Protein Corporation is a century old nutritional product company that develops, produces, and delivers healthy products derived from menhaden, a fish found abundantly off the U.S. Atlantic Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. Omega Protein Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary and division of Cooke Inc., a family-owned company based in New Brunswick, Canada.
Through its subsidiaries, Omega Protein owns three menhaden manufacturing facilities in the United States. Omega Protein also has a long-term supply contract with Ocean Harvesters, which owns 30 fishing vessels which harvest menhaden. All fishing vessels owned and operated by Ocean Harvesters, an independent company, were formerly owned by Omega Protein. Any references to commercial fishing of menhaden relate to Ocean Harvesters, not Omega Protein or Cooke Inc.
