One Menhaden Reform Advances, Another Set Aside at High-Stakes Virginia Hearing

While a broadly supported pause on the industrial fishery in the Bay is no longer on the table this session, hope remains for menhaden research and reform in Virginia after a House subcommittee advanced a key proposal yesterday.

Menhaden are small fish that are a key food for larger species. They are also the target of a major extraction fishery concentrated around the Chesapeake Bay. Warning signs are growing around menhaden, including starving osprey chicks and plummeting catches by small-scale watermen.

Yesterday afternoon the House Agriculture Chesapeake and Natural Resources – Chesapeake Subcommittee reported out an amended version of Del. Betsy Carr’s H.B. 1049. The bill would require fisheries observers and set different menhaden harvest levels at different points of the year to better protect menhaden and many other species that depend on them for food. CBF expects this bill will be further refined as it moves through the General Assembly.

However, a separate bill that would move the fishery out of the Bay while research occurs (H.B. 1048) was tabled at the subcommittee hearing, pulling it from consideration this session.

Research into menhaden specific to the Chesapeake Bay remains “woefully inadequate,” according to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. A budget amendment by Del. Carr under consideration would invest in menhaden science in the Bay. This comes after a bill that aimed to establish a menhaden science fund failed to clear the Senate Finance Committee last week (S.B. 474, patroned by Senator David Marsden).

Recognizing the level of concern around the issue, Congress passed legislation last month that included funding for NOAA to support menhaden research in the Bay. As timing for federally-supported research remains uncertain, state investment is urgently needed to boost these efforts.

According to recent bipartisan polling, 92 percent of Virginia voters want to leave more menhaden in Chesapeake Bay, while 79 percent support ending large-scale commercial menhaden fishing in the Bay until there is more science.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Forage Campaign Manager Will Poston issued the following statement on menhaden legislation in the Virginia General Assembly.

“The menhaden industry’s well-oiled lobbyists ensured there was not political will this session to move industrial menhaden fishing out of the Bay until science can show it’s not causing harm. That’s a frustrating blow.

“Thanks to Delegate Carr’s leadership, two options remain this session to protect menhaden. The Chesapeake Subcommittee advanced one proposal to better manage the menhaden fishery in the Bay. In addition, Delegate Carr’s budget amendment would invest in sorely-needed research specific to menhaden in the Bay.

“We must not prioritize the short-term interests of a single corporation over the long-term interests of all the Commonwealth and the Chesapeake Bay. Bipartisan polling shows Virginians overwhelmingly support conservation-minded menhaden reforms.

“A menhaden study has been delayed for years amid industry concerns. While the Bay continues showing signs of stress, osprey starve and bait catches plummet. We can’t afford to keep kicking this down the road. We urge legislators to support Delegate Carr’s legislation and budget amendment.

“The safest approach remains to pause menhaden reduction fishing inside the Chesapeake Bay until the science is finalized and shows what level of industrial menhaden extraction is sustainable in the Bay. We’ll continue to advocate at all levels to save menhaden in the Bay.”