Taking a closer look at bay menhaden
A Virginia Legislature House Bill 19 was filed on Jan. 10 in Richmond to address ongoing ecology, fishery impacts and economic issues with Atlantic menhaden in state waters.
The bill calls for a three-year study conducted by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, in collaboration with Virginia Marine Resources Commission, and with the cooperation of all relevant stakeholders, including recreational anglers, Omega Protein, bait fishery sectors, and nongovernmental organizations, all to participate in the three-year study.
The bill is sponsored by Del. R. Lee Ware, R-Powhatan, and calls for the study to be completed by Oct. 1, 2027. If approved, VIMS will report its findings and any recommendations to the chairmen of the Senate committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and the House committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources, as well as to the secretary of Natural and Historic Resources.
Last year, menhaden were on the House agenda too as Del. Tim Anderson, R-Virginia Beach, proposed Bill 1383 to shut down Virginia’s menhaden reduction fishery in all of the state’s territorial ocean and bay waters. The Agriculture, Chesapeake and National Resources Committee voted 22-0 to table and “pass by indefinitely.”
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