December 7, 2022 — The Virginia Marine Resources Commission on Tuesday chose not to place new limits on the menhaden harvest. The decision came after an hours-long hearing that included roughly three dozen impassioned public commenters.
In fact, board members didn’t vote on the regulations at all. Instead, they approved a non-binding motion to try and reach an agreement with the menhaden industry.
The decision is the latest in a decades-long, politically fraught fight over the fishery that’s unique to the commonwealth.
Virginia is the only place on the East Coast that still allows harvesting menhaden within state waters. Omega Protein catches the fish and processes them into oil or fishmeal at a facility in Reedville.
Sportfishers and environmental groups have been pushing for a total ban on the menhaden harvest in the Chesapeake Bay, citing impacts to the food chain.
A petition supporting such a ban, circulated by the Virginia Saltwater Sportfishing Association this year, garnered 9,200 signatures.
The proposed regulations this week would not have gone nearly as far.
VMRC staff recommended prohibiting menhaden fishing within one nautical mile of shorelines in state and Virginia Beach waters, and for a half-mile on each side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.