Saving Seafood

VIRGINIA: Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger secures USD 2 million to fund menhaden study

July 1, 2026 — The Virginia General Assembly has approved its two-year budget with an additional USD 2 million (EUR 1.7 million) earmarked for menhaden research in the Chesapeake Bay thanks to an amendment by Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger.

The original USD 205 billion (EUR 180 billion) Virginia budget didn’t include any funding for menhaden research, despite continued pushes for it at the state level from environmental groups like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) and major menhaden fishing company Ocean Harvesters. Spanberger submitted several amendments on 26 June, one of which included funding for Atlantic menhaden research.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

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: The last three members of the Northern Neck menhaden boat chantey singers perform again

June 30, 2026 — Thirty-five years ago, the Reedville Fishermen’s Museum asked a local group of retired menhaden fishermen to perform some of their work songs, known as chanteys, for a Fourth of July celebration. They became the Northern Neck Chantey Singers and spent decades touring the country.

Last Friday, three remaining members, now in their 80’s, performed one last time for a dedication ceremony of a road marker honoring their legacy.

More than a century ago, before the hydraulic lift, Black fishermen strained to bring up fish-laden nets on menhaden boats out in the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic.

Read the full article at WMRA

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

Column: New paper’s menhaden claims not backed by evidence

June 29, 2026 — A new paper by Bryan Watts, Ph.D., and coauthors reports poor osprey reproduction in high-salinity areas of the Chesapeake Bay and argues that reduced availability of Atlantic menhaden may be a primary driver. The paper will almost certainly be used to argue for harsh restrictions on this well-regulated fishery, but its conclusion is stronger than its evidence. The study documents an osprey problem but it fails to conclusively link those concerns to Virginia’s commercial menhaden fishery.

The conclusion rests on a chain of assumptions: poor reproduction indicates food stress; food stress indicates reduced menhaden availability; reduced local availability indicates broader scarcity; and any scarcity is linked to commercial fishing.

Each step in that chain requires evidence. The evidence is not there.

Timing is one problem. Ospreys return to the bay and begin nesting before the menhaden purse seine fishery is active. Egg laying and early chick mortality occur before fishing activity. In 2024, when the data used in this paper was collected, menhaden arrived exceptionally late. Early-season fishing did not happen. If prey was unavailable before the fishery was operating, that points to migration timing or environmental conditions, not fishery removals.

Read the full article at The Virginian-Pilot 

Virginia proposes $2 million in funding for menhaden study

June 29, 2026 — On the heels of the Virginia General Assembly approving a $205 billion biennial budget on June 22 without including funding for the menhaden study, Governor Abigail Spanberger proposed adding amendments that include $2 million for the menhaden study.

Spanberger’s amendment states “out of this appropriation, $1 million will go towards the (menhaden) study the first year and $1 million the second year from the general fund and is designated for Atlantic menhaden research and reporting.

“This funding shall be used for Atlantic menhaden research necessary to inform a scientifically defensible and ecologically meaningful Chesapeake Bay harvest cap,” the amendment states.

“This report will be generated by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) in collaboration with the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC), and with the cooperation of relevant stakeholders, including recreational anglers, the reduction and bait fishery sectors, and non-governmental organizations. VIMS will create an annual proposal to draw from this funding until delivery of the final report that provides an approach to setting a scientifically defensible Chesapeake Bay harvest cap.

“The development of this approach may be informed by research on (i) the seasonal abundance of Atlantic menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay; (ii) the movement rates of Atlantic menhaden between the Atlantic coast and the Chesapeake Bay; (iii) the impacts of predator (e.g. striped bass, osprey, and other species) demand and consumption of Atlantic menhaden on the Atlantic menhaden population; (iv) the spatial and temporal patterns of the Atlantic menhaden commercial fishing effort in the Chesapeake Bay; (v) and the possibility of localized depletion of Atlantic menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Governor Spanberger sends compromised Virginia budget proposal back with 14 amendments

June 29, 2026 — Governor Abigail Spanberger has sent the compromised Virginia budget proposal back to lawmakers with 14 amendments.

These changes would require an additional $62 million of the State’s remaining surplus, which currently sits at about $179 million.

The General Assembly will convene for a special session in Richmond on Monday, just one day ahead of the deadline, to vote on the changes.

Read the full article at WWMT

VIRGINIA: Statement by Monty Deihl, Ocean Harvesters CEO, on Governor Spanberger’s amendments restoring funding for Virginia Chesapeake Bay menhaden study

June 26, 2026 — “We are extremely pleased that Gov. Abigail Spanberger has announced her intention to send budget language to the General Assembly that includes a study of menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay. We look forward to continuing to work with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) in collaboration with the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) to develop a scientific study of the Bay’s Atlantic menhaden population.

We were especially pleased to see that the ongoing work being funded by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS), a National Science Foundation-supported cooperative research center, will be available to support the study. The SCEMFIS-funded researchers from VIMS, NOAA, and the Univeristy of Maryland Center for Environmental Science have already provided a great deal of scientific guidance as part of their roadmap project to identify the research needed to support a science-based Bay harvest cap. We hope the Virginia General Assembly will adopt the Governor’s amendment, and we look forward to working with stakeholders involved in the process.

Last, we are also very grateful to the legislators who have worked to help ensure that jobs are protected and the study is based on sound scientific data.”

 About Ocean Harvesters

Ocean Harvesters owns and operates a fleet of more than 30 fishing vessels in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of America. The company’s purse-seine fishing operation is exclusively engaged in the harvest of menhaden, a small, nutrient-dense fish used to produce fish meal, fish oil, and fish solubles. Both its Atlantic and Gulf Menhaden fisheries are certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council. Committed to responsible fishing operations, Ocean Harvesters is proud to be heir to a fishing legacy that extends nearly 150 years.

VIRGINIA: Virginia Beach renews offshore wind land option with Dominion

June 26, 2026 — As Dominion Energy’s massive Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project off Virginia Beach nears completion, the utility is already laying the groundwork for another offshore venture — a proposed North Carolina wind farm that would rely on 32 acres of Virginia Beach land.

On June 9, the Virginia Beach Development Authority approved a five-year option agreement that would allow Dominion to purchase 32 acres of land the authority owns at Corporate Landing Business Park. The site is critical to the development of CVOW South, Dominion’s proposed offshore wind project in North Carolina, as it would enable a grid interconnection facility and an onshore substation.

The exact purchase price for the land at Corporate Landing hinges on a future appraisal. However, the agreement states that Dominion will pay Virginia Beach at least $200,000 per acre, about $6.4 million. This price is in addition to the $120,000 annual fee Dominion pays for each year of the option.

Read the full article at Virginia Business 

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