New research indicates a collapse of the osprey population along the seaside of Virginia’s Eastern Shore, a frequent area for industrial menhaden fishing by Omega Protein.
A May 2025 survey by Dr. Bryan Watts of The College of William and Mary’s Center for Conservation Biology documented a 90 percent decline of nesting osprey on Virginia’s Delmarva Peninsula. The Center for Conservation Biology concluded “the most likely cause of the decline is prey availability.”
This decline in nesting adults adds to a recent trend of osprey chicks starving in their nests across the tidal portions of Chesapeake Bay where osprey historically rely on the small, oily fish called menhaden for food. Osprey in many parts of the region are reproducing at rates well below the historic lows of the DDT crisis in the 1970s.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) corroborates the osprey decline, likely attributing it to a scarcity of food. “Limited prey availability, their capture or their delivery to nests is seemingly the principal driver of poor reproductive success,” the USGS wrote in a recent letter to Congress.
Virginia is the only state along the Atlantic coast that still allows industrial menhaden reduction fishing in its state waters. That sole remaining reduction fishing operation, Reedville-based Omega Protein, harvests well over 100 million pounds of menhaden from the Commonwealth’s waters each year.
A recent letter from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) called for “serious consideration of reducing purse seine fishing in the Bay” given that data to understand impacts of concentrating the industrial menhaden fishery in Virginia waters remains “woefully inadequate.”
Omega’s lobbying has blocked funding for much needed menhaden research in the Chesapeake Bay.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) is expected to consider whether further menhaden management for the Chesapeake Bay is warranted in the coming months.
Chris Moore, Virginia Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, issued the following statement:
“Virginia is the epicenter of both the industrial menhaden fishery and incredibly concerning warning signs. The data shows osprey starving in portions of the Chesapeake Bay, and now a total osprey collapse along the seaside of Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
“Had Omega Protein not consistently opposed menhaden science, Virginia would be developing better answers on ecology and fishery impacts during these challenging times. No company blocks science with the best interest of the public and the environment at heart.
“We don’t have perfect science, but we have enough to acknowledge a problem. It's time for Virginia to act. Virginia must take this challenge head-on and consider opportunities to ensure enough menhaden are in state waters when osprey and other vulnerable predators need menhaden.”
