RICHMOND, Va. — January 28, 2013 — Del. Ed Scott (R-Culpeper) is sponsoring legislation that would limit the catch of Atlantic menhaden in Virginia each year.
The bill establishes an annual total catch of 144,272.84 metric tons between the reduction and bait industries.
Reduction industries make fish into fishmeal as food for livestock or into fish oil, which is used in vitamins and lipstick. Bait industries use menhaden or parts of menhaden to catch larger fish or aquatic animals.
The reduction bill is in response to reports by officials at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) that the number of menhaden off the coast of Virginia is dwindling.
Scott said his dedication to menhaden conservation is not about his district or his constituents, but a part of his work with the Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources.
“As chairman of the Chesapeake subcommittee, I’ve been following the management of menhaden for many years now,“ Scott said. “I have been interested in the economic benefit of the seafood industry to the state of Virginia.“
After reading stock reports published by officials at the ASMFC, Scott became concerned about the reduced number of menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding area, which he said in his bill was due to companies using menhaden in health supplements and as bait to catch other seafood, such as crabs.
In 2011, James Kirkley of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science wrote in his report, “An Assessment of the Social and Economic Importance of Menhaden in Chesapeake Bay Region,” that the reduction industry had an $88 million economic impact on the Chesapeake Bay region and supplied 519 jobs at the OMEGA Protein factory headquarters in Reedville.