June 25, 2026 — Menhaden processor Omega Protein and menhaden harvester Ocean Harvesters are both pushing back after an environmental NGO laid the blame for a lack of funding for research in Virginia’s two-year state budget.
A proposed research initiative for menhaden would have provided USD 1 million (EUR ) per year for two years to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in order to develop scientific research on the species, and a scientifically justifiable Chesapeake Bay harvest cap. Under current regulations, the menhaden quota in the Chesapeake Bay is 51,000 metric tons (MT), but that total is based on average landings of menhaden and not a biological reference point.