Saving Seafood

Studies challenge ‘gauntlet’ theory in Chesapeake menhaden debate

May 6, 2026 — Two independent analyses are pushing back on a key claim driving current Atlantic menhaden management discussions, that Virginia’s reduction fishery is preventing fish from reaching Maryland waters.

According to a May 4 release from the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition, both a statistical review and an oceanographic study found no evidence supporting the idea that Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay purse seine fishery is “blocking” menhaden migration to the upper bay.

The findings were submitted to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Atlantic Menhaden Management Board through a comment letter from Ocean Harvesters, as regulators consider a proposed addendum focused on the timing of the reduction fishery.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

VIRGINIA: Dominion to open nation’s biggest offshore wind farm next year

May 4, 2026 — The largest offshore wind project under construction in the U.S. has nine turbines in the water and is on track to begin operating next year.

The update by Dominion Energy on its sprawling project called Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind came as the utility reported strong growth in power demand from data centers. Company executives also expressed enthusiasm in Virginia’s new energy storage targets and said the utility had submitted a bid to extend a long-term power contract for its nuclear power plant in Connecticut.

But the offshore wind project headlined Dominion’s financial update with analysts Friday. The Trump administration temporarily halted construction of the 2,600-megawatt project late last year. Construction resumed in January after Dominion successfully sued the government. The project’s first turbine began spinning in March.

Read the full article at E&E News

Two Independent Reviews Find No Evidence that Virginia’s Menhaden Season Is ‘Blocking’ Fish from Reaching Maryland Pound Nets

May 4, 2026 — The following was release by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

A proposed Atlantic menhaden management addendum aimed at Virginia’s Chesapeake purse seine fishery is being driven by a simple claim: that a shift in the timing of the reduction fishery has reduced menhaden availability farther north, contributing to lower Maryland pound net harvests.

Two separate analyses, one statistical and one oceanographic, reach the same conclusion: the available evidence does not support the “gauntlet” theory. Instead, both studies suggest Maryland pound net results are better explained by (1) changes in fishing effort and (2) Bay conditions that affect where fish can live and how catchable they are.

The analyses were submitted to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board in a comment letter from Ocean Harvesters.  

The ASMFC Atlantic Menhaden Management Board’s Plan Development Team (PDT), the staff group tasked with drafting the proposed addendum, has already signaled that the addendum’s core premise warrants deeper scientific review. In a memo to the Board, the PDT recommended referring the proposal to the menhaden Technical Committee (TC) as “a more appropriate avenue to conduct a detailed analysis” of the central claim driving the addendum: that a recent shift in timing of the Chesapeake Bay reduction fishery has reduced fish availability in the upper Bay and, in turn, reduced Maryland pound net harvests.

These two studies support that recommendation by challenging the “blocking” narrative and highlighting alternative explanations rooted in measurable environmental conditions.  

1) What the numbers say: when Virginia sets are high, Maryland catch-per-trip tends to be high too

The first study was conducted by Georgetown Economic Services (GES) using commonly referenced data sources: Virginia purse-seine “net sets” and Maryland pound net landings and trips.  

If the Virginia reduction fishery is preventing menhaden from reaching Maryland, then Maryland’s catch-per-trip should fall when Virginia activity rises.  

That’s not what the data show.  

GES calculated Maryland “harvest per trip” (a common way to express catch rate) and compared it month by month against the number of Virginia purse-seine sets, while accounting for normal seasonal patterns.

 

Result: the relationship was positive and statistically meaningful. The “net sets” coefficient was 2.4063 with a p-value of 0.0289, meaning the relationship is unlikely to be random noise.  

Put plainly:  

  • When Virginia set activity is higher, Maryland’s menhaden catch per trip tends to be higher.  
  • When Virginia set activity is lower, Maryland’s menhaden catch per trip tends to be lower.  

GES notes it’s “highly unlikely” that one fishery is impacting the other; the more reasonable interpretation is that both fisheries are responding to the same underlying condition: how many fish are present and available in the Bay at a given time.  

This is the opposite of what you’d expect if a lower-Bay “gauntlet” were systematically starving the upper Bay of fish.  

2) What the Bay’s physics say: water conditions can change where menhaden concentrate, without any “interception”

The second study was prepared by Dr. Arnoldo Valle-Levinson, a University of Florida professor who specializes in how water moves through estuaries and how that movement shapes conditions in places like the Chesapeake.  

Rather than starting with fishing narratives, this analysis starts with a basic reality of the Chesapeake Bay: summer conditions can squeeze fish into smaller “livable” layers of water, and those shifts can make fish easier or harder to catch depending on location and gear.  

A simple but critical point: catches fell, but effort fell too; catch rate did not steadily collapse

Dr. Valle-Levinson first looked at Maryland pound net time-series patterns:  

  • Maryland menhaden catches show a decreasing trend over the last 12 years.  
  • Maryland trips (effort) also show a decreasing trend.  
  • The two “go hand in hand.”  
  • Importantly, catch per unit of effort (catch/trip) “has not changed over time,” despite a marked dip in 2024.  

That matters for public understanding: lower landings do not automatically mean fewer fish are available. Sometimes, it means fewer trips are being made.  

The “hypoxia” effect: when oxygen drops, fish habitat compresses, and catches can rise

The report then evaluates how hypoxia (low oxygen levels in the water) relates to catch patterns. It tracks hypoxic depth, essentially, how far down you have to go before oxygen becomes too low for many fish.  

Dr. Valle-Levinson finds that Maryland catches and catch rates show a consistent linkage with hypoxia depth over annual cycles. In practical terms, the analysis indicates that catches increase when the low-oxygen zone rises (when hypoxic depth becomes shallower), a pattern consistent with fish being pushed into a smaller oxygenated layer, making them more concentrated and more catchable.  

Stratification and river flow: the upstream “push” that can set the stage

The report also finds that:  

  • River discharge in the upper Bay relates to water-column stratification in the mid-Bay (how strongly the Bay separates into layers).  
  • River discharge relates to hypoxic depth.  
  • Stratification is linked to Maryland catches and catch rates, especially at deeper mid-Bay stations.  
  • There is also evidence that increased discharge is linked to increased Maryland catch with a time lag (months).  

The submission summarizes this chain in a way that’s easy to visualize: more freshwater flow → stronger layering → stronger hypoxia/habitat compression → fish concentrate → catches can rise.  

The report even includes a plain-language schematic (“The estuary cascade”) illustrating how high-flow seasons can contribute to stratification, expand low-oxygen conditions, compress fish habitat, and increase pound net catches, again, without invoking any “interception” mechanism.  

About Dr. Arnoldo Valle-Levinson

Dr. Valle-Levinson is a Professor in the University of Florida’s Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering and currently serves as a Program Officer for Physical Oceanography at the National Science Foundation.

He is the author of the textbook, Introduction to Estuarine Hydrodynamics(Cambridge University Press, 2022); and the Editor of Contemporary Issues in Estuarine Physics (Cambridge University Press, 2010).  

VIRGINIA: Virginia awards USD 248,000 to Wanchese Fish Company for catfish processing

April 1, 2026 — The state of Virginia has awarded USD 248,000 (EUR 214,857) to the Wanchese Fish Company as part of a government program designed to increase blue catfish production capacity.

“With a total economic impact of more than USD 1 billion (EUR 866,372,317) annually, Virginia’s seafood industry is a major driver of local economic growth. In addition to the investment in the Commonwealth’s seafood industry and overall economy, today’s announcement serves as another step forward in protecting the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia’s waterways from the invasive Blue Catfish,” Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger said in a release. “Congratulations to Wanchese Fish Company on receiving this grant and increasing the capacity for blue catfish processing in Suffolk and expanding market opportunities for Virginia’s watermen.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

 

As offshore wind projects begin operations, cause of Vineyard Wind blade incident remains unknown

March 31, 2026 —  The Biden administration set out to spread 30 gigawatts of offshore wind on the coasts of the United States. While that goal wasn’t reached before President Donald Trump took office, several projects were approved and continued with construction.

Earlier this month, Vineyard Wind off the coast of Nantucket finished construction, The Nantucket Current reported. Shortly after, offshore wind developer Orsted announced that the Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island began providing intermittent power to New England. This week, the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project off the coast of Virginia Beach began providing intermittent power to the grid, Virginia Business reported.

Despite concerns about the impacts of offshore wind to electricity rates and whales, Biden’s wind projects move rapidly ahead. The federal analysis of what caused a catastrophic blade failure on Vineyard Wind in July 2024 still hasn’t been published.

Read the full article at Just The News

VIRGINIA: The blue catfish: If you can’t beat ’em, eat ’em

March 30, 2026 —  Virginia’s Secretary of Agriculture, Katie Frazier, was in Suffolk Friday to hand globally-known Suffolk-based Wanchese Fish Company a check for $248,000, which will allow it to quicky process blue catfish. Beginning in the seventies, the fish was used to stock rivers for sport fishing.

But now it is considered an ecological threat to the Chesapeake Bay. That’s why now, the state’s position is if you can’t beat ’em, eat ’em. According to NOAA, the taste is described as slightly sweet and clean.

“Processing equipment is, obviously, very expensive,” said Joel Richardson, a spokesperson for Wanchese Fish Company. “But we’re also adding jobs, and we’re hoping that over the next number of years, as we grow and we’re working buying fish from local fishermen, and going to be processing it.

Read the full article at WAVY.com

VIRGINIA: Virginia Beach offshore wind farm has started producing electricity

March 26, 2026 — Dominion Energy’s wind farm off the Virginia Beach coast sent its first batch of power to the regional electric grid on Monday, the company confirmed.

The $11 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, or CVOW, stretches from about 27 to 44 miles off the Oceanfront and will be the nation’s largest commercial offshore wind farm.

The first fully completed turbine began spinning this week, generating just under 15 megawatts of power, enough to cover about 3,675 homes. The energy moves through undersea cables that connect with onshore transmission infrastructure at State Military Reservation in Virginia Beach.

“This marks another major milestone for the project, adding much-needed electricity to help serve the fastest-growing power demand in the country,” spokesperson Jeremy Slayton said in an email.

Read the full article at VPM

US lawmakers introduce bill to reauthorize NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Office

March 24, 2026 — U.S. lawmakers have introduced legislation to reauthorize NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay office and bolster restoration efforts in the bay’s watershed.

“The Chesapeake Bay is the heart of so many Virginia communities, supporting fisherman and local businesses, offering unique educational opportunities to students, and serving as a hotspot for recreation,” U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia) said in a release. “I’m proud to introduce this legislation that works to ensure the Bay remains a resource for generations to come.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Menhaden Fisheries Coalition Condemns Chesapeake Bay Foundation for Misusing Natural Fish Wash-Up to Push False Anti-Fishing Narrative

March 6, 2026 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition strongly criticizes the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Will Poston for exploiting the recent fish wash-up from Cape Henry, Virginia to Nags Head, North Carolina to promote yet another misleading attack on Virginia’s menhaden fishery.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is using this natural event to make false accusations and continue the campaign of anti-menhaden misinformation it has employed in numerous fundraising appeals, both online and in direct mail. It is another shameless attempt by CBF to make villains of the menhaden fishery, while failing to put the same focus on current environmental disasters, such as the vast amounts of raw sewage flowing into the Bay from the Potomac River. CBF’s effort to use this beach wash-up to smear the menhaden fishery fits a broader pattern: blame menhaden harvest first, oversimplify the science second, and ignore every other environmental stressor that is harder to politicize.

Mr. Poston falsely stated that efforts to fund research to better understand the Chesapeake Bay menhaden population have “been needlessly delayed by Omega Protein and their McGuireWoods lobbyists in Richmond.” There is no truth to that statement. Neither Omega Protein, nor Ocean Harvesters, nor McGuireWoods are standing in the way of any funding of a Bay survey.

The industry supports science. Over the past two decades, Ocean Harvesters and Omega Protein have supported at least 15 scientific studies and have regularly provided detailed landings and operational data to NOAA and ASMFC scientists. The industry is currently working collaboratively with researchers day in and day out on menhaden tagging and other studies.

Through the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS), a National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) that includes the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, the Marine Stewardship Council, and researchers from NASA, the industry has funded a project designed to identify the research needed to finally develop a scientifically defensible and ecologically meaningful Chesapeake Bay harvest cap for Atlantic menhaden. Led by scientists from the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, and NOAA, it will review existing menhaden science, identify key data gaps, and recommend specific study designs, analytical methods, timelines, and costs for future Bay-focused research, including tools such as tagging, hydroacoustics, spatial modeling, and analysis of existing datasets like landings and spotter pilot reports.

When CBF says research has been “needlessly delayed” by the industry, it is distorting the record. The real issue has been making sure research is done with credible methods and defensible study design, not blocking research.

The fish die-offs are unfortunate. But as reported by WTKR News 3, Virginia Marine Resources Commission public information officer Zach Widgeon stated this was “not a result of a fishing spill or a net bust.” It was a natural cold-weather occurrence tied to a sudden temperature drop offshore.

The current die-off is not evidence of a collapsing forage base. It is evidence that menhaden remain abundant in Bay waters. As Mr. Widgeon noted, “There are so many menhaden out on the East Coast that you’re going to see them affected and washing up more than any other species.” CBF’s statements continually ignore this most basic scientific reality: Atlantic menhaden are not overfished and overfishing is not occurring, according to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s current benchmark assessment. ASMFC’s management framework explicitly uses ecological reference points designed to account for menhaden’s role as forage for predator species.

CBF also ignores recent state survey data. In October 2025, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources reported that Atlantic menhaden were widespread in the Chesapeake Bay for the third consecutive year.

These attacks are aimed at real people in a real working community. The Reedville-centered menhaden industry provides the kinds of jobs that rural Virginia cannot easily replace. A Virginia Marine Resources Commission economic assessment found that the direct effects of the operation are heavily concentrated in Northumberland County, with 217 of 299 employees residing there, including 55 in Reedville. The report also describes the jobs as stable employment with benefits and union representation, and notes that most direct impacts occur in Northumberland County.

CBF is not just criticizing a fishery. It is attacking one of the most economically important sources of unionized working-class employment in Virginia’s Northern Neck, while presenting itself as the sole voice of the public interest. It is easy to issue inflammatory press releases, it’s much harder to create well-paying jobs with full benefits.

Anyone who wants to understand what is really at stake should hear directly from the union fishermen themselves. Readers should visit the UFCW Local 400 website and watch this video featuring the union fishermen describing their jobs in their own words.

BEN LANDRY: Call to shut down menhaden fishery is unwarranted

March 2, 2026 – The following is an opinion piece by Ben Landry, vice president of public affairs for Ocean Fleet Services, the parent company of Ocean Harvesters, originally published in the Baltimore Sun:

On Feb. 16, The Baltimore Sun published an editorial urging a moratorium on menhaden fishing in the Chesapeake Bay (Virginia and Maryland have a small fish problem). Unfortunately, the piece contains errors and misleading claims that strongly suggest it was not independently researched, but instead repackaged long-running advocacy talking points from groups such as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.

Before endorsing what would amount to a shutdown of a historic fishery — and the hundreds of working waterfront jobs it supports — the editorial board owes readers something more than recycled press- release advocacy. Did the board reach out to Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission scientists or Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) biologists? Did it review the current stock status findings that explicitly state Atlantic menhaden are not overfished and overfishing is not occurring? Did it consider that the fishery is certified as sustainable under the Marine Stewardship Council program?

Several claims in the editorial need correction.

First, the editorial asserts a “reduction in the menhaden population” and suggests there is “too much evidence of overfishing.” That is demonstrably false. Marylandʼs own DNR juvenile striped bass survey reported last year that Atlantic menhaden were “widespread” in the Chesapeake Bay for the third consecutive year, with recent survey results among the strongest in decades.

ASMFCʼs benchmark findings are clear: Menhaden are not overfished, and overfishing is not occurring. And the fishery is MSC-certified for sustainability. Even last summerʼs menhaden die-offs — events The Sun itself has covered — underscore that there are significant menhaden concentrations in Maryland waters.

Second, the editorial claims that “more dead osprey chicks” are “starving from the reduction in the menhaden population,” and the photo caption amplifies an even stronger assertion: that Virginia “allows the killing of millions of this oily fish causing widespread osprey chick starvation” in tidal bay areas. That allegation is not based on science. Researchers have repeatedly cautioned against treating menhaden as a singular explanation for osprey outcomes. A 2024 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) presentation to the ASMFC and in a letter to Congress described osprey challenges as complex and multi-factor, noting a large long-term increase in the bayʼs osprey population before recent leveling. USGS has also made clear that osprey reproduction challenges are occurring in many places around the country — not uniquely tied to any one prey species, let alone one fishery.

Third, the editorial says striped bass “are in collapse” because the Chesapeake is a primary nursery. Striped bass are indeed struggling, and Maryland DNRʼs Young-of-Year Striped Bass Survey has documented below-average spawning success for the seventh consecutive year. But the editorial fails to acknowledge what ASMFC has documented about why striped bass are declining: The primary drivers are recreational overfishing (for much of the past decade), environmental conditions and disease — not menhaden harvest levels. The editorial also ignores that, until very recently, ASMFC found the recreational fishery overharvested striped bass for years; only recently has overfishing ended, while the stock remains overfished.

Fourth, the editorial proposes a moratorium “while a federally funded study takes place.” More science is always welcome, but “pause everything until science is finalized” is not how fisheries are managed under the Magnuson-Stevens framework or the interstate system that governs menhaden. Menhaden management already occurs through a formal, transparent ASMFC process. And there is already bay-focused scientific work underway: The National Science Foundation-affiliated Science Center for Marine Fisheries has funded a Chesapeake Bay menhaden research roadmap led by scientists from UMCES, VIMS and NOAA to inform any bay-specific cap with defensible science. A shutdown now — despite a healthy coastwide stock and clear findings that the stock is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring — would be an unnecessary and economically reckless “solution” looking for a problem.

Fifth, the editorial suggests the fishery can simply shift harvest elsewhere — “in Atlantic Ocean coastal waters … and in the Gulf of Mexico” — as if the bay closure would be painless. Weather conditions and migrations require access to the fish where they are and when they can be caught. That argument betrays a lack of understanding of fishing reality and is callous because it ignores the concentrated workforce and supply chain centered on Reedville, Virginia, and the Northern Neck — jobs with real wages, real benefits and real union protections that are not replaceable in those communities. A forced closure would hit working families first.

Finally, the editorial repeatedly misidentifies the company that harvests fish — another sign that basic research was not done. Omega Protein has not harvested for eight years. Since 2018, it has been a processor that manufactures products such as fish meal and fish oil from menhaden obtained from two sources. Most of the menhaden purchased by Omega Protein is caught by Ocean Harvesters, a majority-U.S.-owned fishing company employing U.S. captains and union fishermen — members of UFCW Local 400 — many from multi-generational fishing families, including minority fishermen. In addition, Omega Protein purchases from menhaden bait fishermen when market conditions are such that supply outstrips demand. If The Sun is going to editorialize about shutting down a fishery and disrupting a regional blue-collar economy, it should at least get the names and roles of the companies involved correct.

The Chesapeake Bay deserves thoughtful, science- based management — not policy-by-editorial fueled by activist narratives. The Sun should correct the record, engage directly with ASMFC and Maryland DNR scientists and treat working waterfront communities with the seriousness and respect they deserve.