Saving Seafood

VIRGINIA: Virginia budget funds long-awaited research on menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay

June 30, 2026 — Virginia’s final budget, passed by the General Assembly Monday, includes funding for a highly anticipated study investigating menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay.

An amendment from Gov. Abigail Spanberger allocates $2 million to William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science for research during the next two years, in collaboration with the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.

Environmentalists and recreational anglers have raised concerns in recent years about what they say is an apparent decline in the menhaden population and in the species that feed on it, such as ospreys and striped bass.

Advocates point fingers at the menhaden fishing industry. Virginia is the last East Coast state that permits menhaden reduction fishing. (Others allow fishermen to catch menhaden as bait.)

Industry officials say there’s no evidence that menhaden are being overfished, pointing to assessments by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Environmental groups say coastwide data could obscure a localized decline in the Chesapeake Bay.

Monty Deihl, CEO of Ocean Harvesters, said in a statement that the company is “extremely pleased” about the funding.

He said it will complement an ongoing project launched last fall by the National Science Foundation’s Science Center for Marine Fisheries, which is funded by industry members, including Omega Protein and Ocean Harvesters.

Read the full article at WHRO

VIRGINIA: Lawmakers approve funding of menhaden study

June 30, 2026 — The Virginia General Assembly in Richmond, Va., officially passed on June 29 fourteen budget amendments to the states $205 billion biennial budget including $2 million for a comprehensive study on Atlantic Menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay.

The Assembly had presented a proposed budget to Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger on June 22 that did not include funds for the study. This prompted political finger pointing from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) at Omega Protein Inc. and Ocean Harvesters, the Reedville, Va., firms involved in the only large reduction menhaden fishery on Atlantic Coast.

CBF accused the Reedville firms of using “political pressure” to persuade legislators not to approve research funding in the state budget. Promptly, Omega Protein and Ocean Harvesters issued a news release adamantly denying the use of “political pressure” to discourage funding of menhaden research.

The release stated “Ocean Harvesters and Omega Protein flatly deny playing any role in the Virginia General Assembly’s decision not to include funding to study the Chesapeake Bay’s Atlantic menhaden population in the two-year state budget. These false claims were made by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, an organization that has misled Virginians as part of a special interest campaign against the industry for more than two decades.”

Read the full article at National Fisherman

VIRGINIA: Major menhaden harvester pushes back on claims it opposed funding for menhaden researc

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.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

VIRGINIA: Menhaden firms deny pressuring Virginia legislators

June 24, 2026 — Virginia House and Senate lawmakers finalized the state’s $205 billion 2026-28 biennial budget in June without approving funds for research of the state’s Chesapeake Bay menhaden population.

Omega Protein and its fishing partner Ocean Harvesters of Reedville, Va., have been accused by Chesapeake Bay Foundation officials of “continued political pressure” on legislators, resulting in denial of the funding.

There were three bills introduced in the 2026 Virginia legislative session associated with the funding and encouraging more overall menhaden research and oversight of the fish and industry. All three bills were killed in committee.

A bill (SB)-474 was introduced by state Sen. David Marsden, D-Fairfax, which would have established the Atlantic Menhaden Research Fund to direct the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) to conduct dedicated population studies of the fish to establish ecologically meaningful harvest limits.

Another bill (HB)-1048 was introduced by Del. Betsy Carr, D-Richmond, who sought to halt industrial menhaden purse-seine fishing in the Chesapeake Bay until “research” could certify that the fishery does not negatively impact other species. The bill stated “determination that the fishery does not create a negative impact shall be made by the state Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources and certified in writing by the Virginia Code Commission”

In addition, (HB)-1049 was also introduced by Delegate Carr that encouraged Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) to develop and maintain a quota management system for bay caps on seasonal quota periods. The bill also called for VMRC to mandate and fund independent observers on 10 percent of Ocean Harvesters’ fishing trips.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

VIRGINIA: 54th Annual Blessing of the Fleet held in Reedville

May 26, 2026 — On Sunday, members of the community, seafood industry, and organizations, such as Virginia Marine Resources Commission and Smith Point Sea Rescue gathered in Reedville alongside Ocean Harvesters and Omega Protein for the 54th Annual Blessing of the Fleet, a long standing tradition honoring the men and women who work on the water.

Reverend William Stafford Whittaker opened the ceremony with a Call to Worship, reminding attendees that fishing remains “both a dangerous and a very important occupation.” He noted that many in the Northern Neck dedicate their lives to this work, providing “food, medicine, and other resources for the good of the wider world.”

Read the full article at News On The Neck

Menhaden fishermens’ paychecks likely to be smaller

May 15, 2026 — A recent announcement that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Menhaden Management Board has postponed a decision to place further restrictions on Virginia’s menhaden reduction fishery inside Chesapeake Bay means Ocean Harvesters of Reedville, Virginia, will begin fishing full throttle in June.

This will be the first season Omega Protein, the last large reduction fishery left on the United States East Coast, will have to abide by the 2026 ASMFC 20 percent coast-wide menhaden quota reduction approved by the commission in October 2025.

The reduction will not, however, impact Omega’s 51,000 metric ton quota that is the current allowable harvest quota from Chesapeake Bay waters. The ASMFC menhaden management board was considering time and area closers of Virginia’s menhaden reduction fishery in Chesapeake Bay “to be protective of piscivorous birds and fish during critical points of their life cycles.”

There was also concern that the reduction fishery was capturing forage fish before they moved through the bay up into Maryland waters. “The menhaden management board is going to conduct more studies on this,” says Ben Landry, Omega Proteins’ director of public affairs.  “It is pretty clear to us though that we are not catching all the fish before they get to Maryland.  When we are catching menhaden at the same time Maryland pound netters are catching plenty of fish, it is a good indication that we are not catching all the fish before they get to Maryland waters,” says Landry.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Menhaden Research Gets Federal Boost

February 20, 2026 — President Donald Trump signed a federal spending package in January that includes two-point-five million dollars for menhaden research, ending a two-year wait for state funding. Businesses, scientists, and anglers support the study, saying solid data is needed before imposing limits. Some environmental advocates however, argue reductions should happen now, but regulators are holding off pending the research. We reached out to Omega Protein for comment, and they told us that “Ocean Harvesters, headquartered locally in Reedville, has a long track record of supporting rigorous, independent science to better understand Atlantic menhaden and the broader Bay ecosystem. The Company believes that any funding for menhaden projects at NOAA-Fisheries is in good hands.”

Read the full article at Middle Neck News

VIRGINIA: Ocean Harvesters fight to keep fishing

September 29, 2025 — Virginia holds the distinction of being the largest East Coast state for seafood catch volume and the third-largest producer of marine products in the nation, surpassed only by Alaska and Louisiana.

This is largely tied to Reedville, Va. having historically been the fifth largest “volume of catch” commercial fishing port in the United States, and home to Omega Protein, Inc. and its fishing partner Ocean Harvesters.

The recent news that Ocean Harvesters is adding a $9 million menhaden vessel, the 165-foot F/V Tangier Sound, to its fishing fleet is sending a message that Ocean Harvesters, Omega Protein Inc. and Canadian parent company Cooke Inc. plan on fishing in the bay region well into the future.

The company has been dodging a barrage of opposition up and down the East Coast, ranging from Maryland 5th graders writing letters to the firm to “stop killing ospreys,” to opponents throwing blocks into nets.  Tactics have included a jet skier interrupting net sets, protest boats attempting to block the fishermen, and environmental groups alleging that overfishing of menhaden is depleting osprey and striped bass populations.

A lawsuit in federal court for the Southern District of New York alleging that Cooke Inc. had been illegally fishing in U.S. waters because the boats are owned by a Canadian firm was dismissed in January 2025, allowing Ocean Harvesters to continue to fish.

The jet ski incident occurred in September 2023 and brought national attention to the debate, prompting Virginia legislators to pass a “right to fish” law to protect menhaden crews and commercial fishing watermen from harassment.

During a Sept. 15 tour of Omega Protein’s fish meal and oil plants and the new vessel, including a 45-minute ride on Tangier Sound and a three-hour classroom style seminar, Ocean Harvesters defended why reduction menhaden fishing should continue on Chesapeake Bay.

Ocean Harvesters’ CEO Monty Diehl addressed each issue with detailed graphic presentations aimed at countering growing opposition from environmental groups such as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, as well as a swelling waterfront population whose changing demographics have no ties to the bay’s seafood or maritime culture.

Virginia has a small purse net bait recreational fishery that catches menhaden as well as the larger “reduction” fishery, so named because of how its catch is processed for omega fish oils, meal and related products. It is the only large menhaden reduction fishery remaining on the East Coast. The reduction fishery was founded in 1867 by Elijah Reed who brought the modern day pogy (menhaden) fishery to Virginia from Brooklin, Maine. Reedville is named after Elijah Reed and a monument in the town square memorializes that history.

Read the full article at National Fisherman 

LOUISIANA: Menhaden Industry Steps Up for Local Communities in Wake of Hurricanes

September 22, 2025 — With the 20th anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita upon us, Louisianians are thinking back to that devastation and remembering all those who helped us get through those difficult times. When hurricanes batter the Gulf Coast, the menhaden industry—often seen only for its fishing fleet and processing plants—has taken on a different role: a committed neighbor ready to step up in times of crisis.

In September 2021, after Hurricane Ida tore through southeastern Louisiana, Omega Protein quickly mobilized relief for hard-hit Terrebonne Parish. The company delivered 550 gallons of gasoline, 3 pallets of water (252 cases), and a pallet of hand sanitizer from its plant in Abbeville to St. Joseph Church in Chauvin. Through social media, the company directed its followers to local charities to help get the community back on its feet. Company employees also partnered with relief organization Bayou Boys Community Helpers to distribute over 1,000 meals to residents who had been impacted by the hurricane in neighboring Lafourche Parish.

A year earlier, when Hurricane Laura devastated Cameron Parish with 150-mph winds, the destruction was staggering. In the days immediately after the storm, Omega Protein stepped in, despite having closed its Cameron facility in 2013.

Read the full article at NOLA.COM

VIRGINIA: Ocean Harvesters welcome new menhaden seiner

September 18, 2025 — Omega Shipyard Inc. of Moss Point, Miss., recently delivered a new, state-of-the-art menhaden seiner, F/V Tangier Sound, to Ocean Harvesters in Reedville, Va.

The 165’x40’x12’ steel hull vessel will be fished in Chesapeake Bay and in the Mid-Atlantic region. The vessel’s hull was originally used as an offshore oil supply vessel (OSV) and was about to be scrapped when it was purchased by Ocean Harvesters for $250,000. Omega Shipyard Inc. has done a $9 million conversion on the vessel.

Ocean Harvesters CEO Monty Diehl said OSV hulls make good menhaden steamer platforms. For many decades the industry used scrapped steel hull World War II freighter vessels for “fish steamer” conversions. The use of the term goes back to the days when large purse seine fishing boats were powered by steam engines.

Even though steam engines have long ago been replaced with diesel engines, the 150-foot plus diesel powered vessels on Chesapeake Bay are today still referred to as fish steamers. Before steam engines, sail powered schooners, bugeyes and pungies were used in the bay’s menhaden purse seine fishery that goes back to the late 1860s.

Omega Shipyard Inc.’s previous OSV hull conversions that have come to the Chesapeake have all been powered by rebuilt and reused Caterpillar or Detroit Diesel engines pulled out of old fishing boats. Tangier Sound has two new Cummins KTA38 model, 12 cylinder, 38-liter diesel engines, rated at 1350 h.p. that will push the vessel 13 knots, burning 55 gals. of fuel an hour.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman