Saving Seafood

VIRGINIA: Menhaden Fisheries Coalition Denies Contributing to Osprey “Population Collapse” on Virginia’s Eastern Shore

July 1, 2025 — The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition has responded to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s claims of industrial menhaden fishing contributing to a “total population collapse” of osprey on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

This comes after a May survey by the College of William and Mary’s Center for Conservation Biology reported a 90% nesting osprey population decline in recent decades.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) cites prey scarcity as the main factor, pointing the finger at Omega Protein’s annual 100 million pound-plus menhaden harvests.

Omega Protein denies claims it impacted osprey populations, saying it has cooperated with menhaden stock assessments and monitoring for decades.

Read the full article at WBOC

Commission seeking public input on menhaden management plan

December 8th, 2016 – The group charged with coordinating the management and conservation of more than two dozen nearshore fish species in the Atlantic coastal states is seeking input on its management plan for menhaden.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission released a “public information document” last month outlining a series of options for managing the fish and requesting feedback from the public.

Menhaden are small, silvery fish that play a critical role in the bay’s ecosystem, according to the Chesapeake Bay Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

They serve as a forage fish for striped bass, weakfish, bluefish, and predatory birds like eagles, and also a key role as a filter feeder, feeding on phytoplankton and zooplankton, the NOAA office’s website says.

The menhaden management plan will address catch quotas for the fish along the Atlantic Coast.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is calling for the commission to shift to an “ecosystem” management approach that “ensures there are enough menhaden in the water to fulfill their role in the food chain for the protection of all marine life.”

Public comments must be received by 5 p.m. on Jan. 4.

Comments may be mailed to Megan Ware, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, 1050 North Highland St., Suite 200A-N, Arlington, Virginia 22201.

Read the full story at the Capitol Gazette