January 25, 2013 — State senators agreed unanimously to reduce the Atlantic menhaden fishery in Virginia by 20 percent, while a similar bill awaits a vote on the House floor after passing unopposed through committee.
All 40 senators approved SB1291 on Wednesday, the same day the House Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee voted 5-0 to approve HB2254.
The measures are intended to bring Virginia into compliance with a historic coastwide harvest cap imposed last month by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) to help the diminished stock recover and rebuild from overfishing. The state must comply or face having its fishery shut down.
Under the new plan, total allowable landings in Virginia would max out at 144,272 metric tons per year. This represents a 20 percent reduction from the average of the last several years.
The commission chose its management plan after a series of often contentious public meetings along the East Coast last year, as the commercial fishery argued for no or modest cuts and conservationists and recreational fishermen urged heavier ones.
Often called the most important fish in the sea, menhaden play a key role in the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic as a filter-feeder to help remove harmful algae and other particulates and as a food source for larger predators from striped bass to whales.
As bait, menhaden is commonly used by commercial crabbers in the bay.
Read the full story in the Daily Press