December 19, 2019 — Wilbur Ross, secretary of the US Department of Commerce, has agreed with Virginia governor Ralph Northam and placed the first-ever moratorium on the commonwealth’s menhaden fishery in the Chesapeake Bay — one of the two largest in the US — delivering a potentially nasty blow to Omega Protein.
But the moratorium doesn’t go into effect until June 17, 2020, giving the Houston, Texas-based division of Cooke Inc. plenty of time to work with the state to get into compliance.
The ruling follows Omega Protein’s admission in September of violating a federal cap set by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in the area. The ASFMC cut the bay cap by 41% in 2017, in what it described as a precautionary measure, but without a finding of overfishing.
In October, during its week-long meeting in New Castle, New Hampshire, the ASMFC voted unanimously (15-0) to advance its finding of noncompliance against the state of Virginia to Ross.
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