Saving Seafood

MENHADEN ADVOCACY: A LOW-COST CAUSE FOR RECREATIONAL FISHING ORGANIZATIONS

October 19, 2023 — Lately, the news has been filled with articles about various recreational fishing organizations arguing for stricter menhaden management measures.  Usually, such measures take the form of restrictions on the big industrial harvesters—the so-called “reduction fleet”—whether such harvesters are purse seining Atlantic menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay or Gulf menhaden off the shores of Louisiana.

It’s probably the perfect cause for such organizations to take up, as it allows them to assume the mantle of conservationists, while arguing for regulations that will only impact the commercial fleet and will not place any additional burden on the recreational fishery.

All things considered, advocating for a healthy menhaden population makes sense, as both Atlantic and Gulf menhaden play a very important role in coastal ecosystems.

At the same time, when recreational fishing groups begin to focus most of their conservation efforts on menhaden stocks, which are generally healthy, and ignore—or worse, oppose– needed management measures for marine finfish that are often sought by anglers, such groups’ commitment to conservation might well be questioned.

We see such situation playing out right now in the Gulf of Mexico, particularly off Louisiana, where organizations such as the Coastal Conservation Association and Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership are engaged in an aggressive effort to place new restrictions on the menhaden reduction fishery.

In fact, the Gulf menhaden population is in good shape. The most recent benchmark stock assessment, completed in 2018, found that the stock is neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing.

Unfortunately, not all fish stocks in the Gulf of Mexico are as healthy as menhaden, and this is where things get interesting, at least with respect to the recreational organizations’ supposed commitment to conservation.

Louisiana’s speckled trout stock has been in trouble for a long time. 

Given the overfished state of the speckled trout stock one might logically expect Coastal Conservation Association Louisiana, which was such a strong advocate of additional regulations to protect the undoubtedly healthy Gulf menhaden stock, to demand that Louisiana take immediate, meaningful action to rebuild the speckled trout population.  However, just the opposite occurred.

Read the full article at ONE ANGLER’S VOYAGE

Menhaden fishermen say proposed Louisiana buffers threaten fishing communities

October 14, 2023 — Ocean Harvesters and Westbank Fishing are extremely concerned with last week’s decision by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission to approve a Notice of Intent (NOI) that would impose a one-mile buffer zone for menhaden fishing along the state’s coastline and a 3-mile buffer around Cameron Parish in Southwest Louisiana.

We believe that this decision is not supported by any scientific evidence and will be economically harmful to the menhaden fishery and Louisiana’s fishing communities.

We believe Louisiana’s waters should be shared by all user groups. The new coastwide buffer zone is not necessary for menhaden management. Rather, it’s the result of a long-debated, often political, user conflict that’s already been considered and defeated by the Louisiana Legislature and this Commission. Simply put, these new buffer zones prioritize recreational anglers over commercial fishermen.

Additionally, the Commission chose to move forward without consideration of economic data.  As numerous fishing captains have previously testified before the Commission, this NOI will have real and lasting economic harm and threaten the long-term viability of their operations.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Ending government primate tests is great news for animals and humans; Atlantic menhaden sustainably harvested

September 25, 2023 — Thanks to Sen. Chris Van Hollen and his bipartisan colleagues for helping curtail cruel government experimentation on primates.

Van Hollen and other Maryland lawmakers have supported legislation directing federal agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reduce testing on primates and retire them to sanctuaries where, my research shows, they can recover and thrive.

Last month, the FDA confirmed to nonprofit White Coat Waste (WCW) Project that the agency’s National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR), “does not currently have an NHP [nonhuman primate] program. It was retired in December 2022.” Previously, NCTR used more monkeys than any other FDA laboratory.

Thanks to Sen. Chris Van Hollen and his bipartisan colleagues for helping curtail cruel government experimentation on primates.

Van Hollen and other Maryland lawmakers have supported legislation directing federal agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reduce testing on primates and retire them to sanctuaries where, my research shows, they can recover and thrive.

Last month, the FDA confirmed to nonprofit White Coat Waste (WCW) Project that the agency’s National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR), “does not currently have an NHP [nonhuman primate] program. It was retired in December 2022.” Previously, NCTR used more monkeys than any other FDA laboratory.

Read the full article at the Capital Gazette

VIRGINIA: Virginia AG asks for dismissal of suit over menhaden fishing in the Chesapeake Bay

August 29, 2023 — The Virginia Office of the Attorney General is asking a Richmond judge to throw out a lawsuit from recreational fishers that says state regulators illegally increased menhaden catch limits.

The increase, the recreational fishers say, is having a negative impact on the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.

”This Court cannot issue the requested relief when that relief would result in a violation of another law,” wrote the Office of the Attorney General.

The Chesapeake Legal Alliance filed the lawsuit in May on behalf of the Southern Maryland Recreational Fishing Organization, a group that fishes in both Virginia and Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay. The group says the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, which has overseen the Virginia menhaden fishery since 2020, increased the allowable catch limit outside the Oct. 1–Dec. 31 period when state law allows changes to fishery regulations.

The Office of the Attorney General, which is representing the VMRC, said Virginia had to increase the catch limit to comply with new limits set by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which oversees fisheries on the East Coast. The ASMFC sets a coastwide catch limit for menhaden and then allocates a portion of it to each state. In Virginia, that quota is overseen by the VMRC.

Read the full article at Virginia Mercury

Two Former Menhaden Fishing Vessels Intentionally Sunk as Part of Mississippi Reef Program

August 24, 2023 — The following was released by Omega Protein:

Two former menhaden fishing vessels have been successfully repurposed as artificial reefs, as the F/V Mermentau and the F/V G.P. Chauvin were sunk off the coast of Biloxi, Mississippi on July 26 and 27. TheMermentau and the G.P. Chauvin will now serve a second life as habitats for many Gulf marine species, creating new biodiversity hotspots and new destinations for divers and recreational fishermen.

The G.P. Chauvin and the Mermentau were both previously owned by Ocean Harvesters, which fishes for menhaden in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico and is a long-term supplier and fishing partner to Omega Protein. In their active service, the vessels operated out of nearby Moss Point, Mississippi. Both vessels had been deployed in the fishery for over 30 years, with the Mermentau commissioned in 1988 and the G.P. Chauvin commissioned in 1989. The vessels fished for menhaden with several companies in the area before being retired in 2020 by Ocean Harvesters.

 

“Adapting retired fishing vessels like the G.P. Chauvin and the Mermentau for use as artificial habitats is a great way to responsibly dispose of these vessels while benefitting the environment and marine life at the same time,” said Monty Deihl, the CEO of Ocean Harvesters. “We are always looking for ways to contribute to conservation efforts in our home communities, and projects like this are among the best.”

The reefing was done in collaboration with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and Mississippi Gulf Fishing Banks, a non-profit that works to create new artificial reefs off the Mississippi coast.

“Artificial reefs are an essential part of our mission to promote biodiversity, healthy fisheries and tourism in Mississippi,” said Mississippi Department of Marine Resources Executive Director Joe Spraggins. “Retired ships like the Mermentau and the G.P. Chauvin provide a great substrate for reefs to thrive, and these donated vessels will continue to provide benefits to fish, the environment and sportsmen for years to come.”

 

“The vessels provided by Omega Protein will provide an ideal underwater habitat for marine fish and other organisms in the Gulf,” said Mississippi Gulf Fishing Banks (MGFB) President Ralph Humphrey. “It’s invaluable industry partnerships like these in our community that allow MGFB to safely and effectively continue our mission: creating artificial reefs that will ultimately improve fishing and diving in our Mississippi Gulf Coast waters.”

Omega Protein and Ocean Harvesters have long supported artificial reef programs, and have worked with several states to repurpose retired fishing vessels for new artificial reef habitats. The reefing of the GP. Chauvin and the Mermentau is the latest in a series of reefings of former menhaden vessels: most recently, Ocean Harvester’s Defender was sunk off the coast of Louisiana in 2021; in 2020, the Reedville was sunk off the coast of Delaware; the Barataria Bay was sunk off the coast of Mississippi in 2015; the Great Wicomico was sunk in the Gulf of Mexico in 2009; and the von Rosenberg was sunk off Mississippi in 2000. In the Atlantic, the Omega Protein vessels Tangier Island, Shearwater, and John S. Dempster, Jr have also been sunk for artificial reefs in recent years.

 

About Omega Protein

Omega Protein Corporation is a century old nutritional product company that develops, produces, and delivers healthy products derived from menhaden, a fish found abundantly off the U.S. Atlantic Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. Omega Protein Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary and division of Cooke Inc., a family-owned company based in New Brunswick, Canada.

 

Through its subsidiaries, Omega Protein owns three menhaden manufacturing facilities in the United States. Omega Protein also has a long-term supply contract with Ocean Harvesters, which owns 30 fishing vessels which harvest menhaden. All fishing vessels owned and operated by Ocean Harvesters, an independent company, were formerly owned by Omega Protein. Any references to commercial fishing of menhaden relate to Ocean Harvesters, not Omega Protein or Cooke Inc.

VIRGINIA: Virginia menhaden fishermen test new spill response boats

June 28, 2023 — Chesapeake Bay menhaden fishermen tested a new response team and recovery vessel to handle fish spills when nets tear during purse seining operations, according to Ocean Harvesters, fishing partners of Omega Protein.

Working in cooperation with the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC), Ocean Harvesters tested the vessel Hopeful Harvest and two smaller skimmer boats that can recover spilled fish from the surface before they can drift toward shorelines. The recovery vessel will begin operating in the bay during the upcoming fishing season, the company says.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

VIRGINIA: Chesapeake Bay menhaden steamers christened

April 25, 2023 — Omega Shipyard in Moss Point, Miss., recently delivered the $8 million 180’x40’ F/V Reedville to Ocean Harvesters, suppliers to Omega Protein in Reedville, Va.

A traditional maritime christening ceremony of the F/V Reedville and F/V Little River was held on Saturday, April 22, to kick off the 2023 menhaden fishing season starting May 8.

With the new season, there’s hope that an agreement between menhaden fishermen, Virginia state officials, and other Chesapeake Bay user groups will reduce longstanding conflicts.

The christening was held on the docks at the Reedville plant, where the company’s fleet of nine fish steamers are moored. The 180’x40’x7’ Little River was not christened at the time of delivery in 2020 because of the covid-19 pandemic.

The Reedville, Little River, and the F/V Carters Creek, delivered in 2017, are all converted hulls from offshore supply vessels (OSVs) formerly employed in the offshore oil and gas industry. The three finished boats are almost identical.

The ceremony started with the singing of the National Anthem by Charlotte Blackwell, 10, daughter of Capt. William Blackwell, who is the master of the F/V Reedville.

Hannah Long, environmental manager of Omega Protein, was the master of ceremonies for the event, and she told the history behind the ancient ceremony of christening a boat for “good luck.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

VIRGINIA: Limits to be placed on menhaden fishing in Chesapeake Bay

April 25, 2023 — The menhaden fishery that supplies Omega Proteins’ plant in Reedville said it would limit the areas where it fishes, largely avoiding more populated coastal areas of the lower Eastern Shore of Virginia and Hampton Roads, including Virginia Beach.

Ocean Harvesters, which has an exclusive, long-term supply agreement with Omega Protein of Reedville, has continuously operated in the area since 1878 and announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the state of Virginia Wednesday. The Virginia Marine Resources Commission voted in December in favor of it.

The agreement, Ocean Harvesters said, is expected to limit potential sources of conflict between the fishery and other users in the Chesapeake Bay, “and is part of the fishery’s efforts to be responsible stewards of our shared marine resources.”

Omega uses the small, oily-fleshed silver fish and turns it into fish oil and fish meal

The fishery will not be able to operate in waters within one mile of the Hampton Roads/Virginia Beach area, and the lower Eastern Shore, and it will put new limits on when and where the menhaden fishery can operate.

Read the full article at WAVY

VIRGINIA: Ocean Harvesters, Virginia sign agreement limiting menhaden fishing

April 24, 2023 — Ocean Harvesters, the largest participant in Virginia’s menhaden fishery and a long-term supplier to Cooke subsidiary Omega Protein, recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with government of Virginia agreeing to put limits on menhaden fishing in the Chesapeake Bay.

The new agreement will restrict areas in the Bay to fishing, restrict fishing on weekends during busy recreational fishing seasons, and limit fishing an areas with high recreational boating traffic. The new MoU, the company said, will help limit conflicts between the fishery and other users of the bay.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

VIRGINIA: Menhaden fleet agrees to limit where it fishes in the bay

April 23, 2023 — The controversial menhaden fleet that supplies Omega Proteins’ Reedville plant is promising to limit areas in the Chesapeake Bay where it will set its nets and catch fish.

In a memorandum of understanding with the state, Ocean Harvesters said it wants to limit potential areas of conflict with other users of the bay.

Conservationists and recreational fishermen had pushed for limits — with some calling for an outright ban on catching menhaden in the bay — after two spills of dead menhaden last year washed ashore.

Read the full article at Richmond Times-Dispatch