January 25, 2023 — Virginia state House Bill 1383, recently introduced by Delegate Tim Anderson of Virginia Beach to shut down Virginia’s menhaden reduction fishery in all of the state’s territorial ocean waters and inland Bay waters for two years, was unanimously tabled Jan. 18 by the Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee.
The vote was 22-0 to table and “pass by indefinitely.” The bill has a delayed effective date of Nov. 18, 2023 and a sunset date of Nov. 22, 2025.
“Normally when they vote PBI it means the bill dies forever unless someone brings it back next year,” said Montgomery Deihl, vice president of operations for Omega Protein in Reedville, Va. “But the fact that it was a unanimous vote sends a strong signal that there’s no support for it.”