Saving Seafood

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

New fish spill cleanup boats on Chesapeake Bay

August 23, 2023 — Omega Protein’s last menhaden net tear on Chesapeake Bay has led to the firm designing and building a new clean-up vessel called a “skimmer boat.” It is designed to rapidly pick up dead fish on and below the surface of the water.

The 20’ x 8’ aluminum garvey-style boat was designed and built by Lambert Walker of Reedville, Va., who retired from Omega in 2013. Walker was asked to come out of retirement to build a new boat. Before he had retired, he had built a similar boat for the same type of use.

Walker, 72, says he is “just an old welder.”  He is an old welder and much more.  Walker started working in the companies’ metal shop in 1973, when Omega Protein was then known as Zapata Haynie Corporation.

His boatbuilding skills and knowledge have come from 40 years of building aluminum purse seine boats and handling maintenance needs on the companies’ equipment and on Omega’s steel hull fishing vessels.

“I just took out my scale rule, drew it up and welded it together,” he says modestly. “It is a nice little boat, and it will meet the need when it is necessary.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Wittman leads House members in legislation to protect Chesapeake Bay

July 23, 2023 — The Chesapeake Bay SEEE Act would help protect the watershed, improve ecosystem management and increase environmental stewardship opportunities.

Congressman Rob Wittman of Virginia, U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes of Maryland, Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott of Virginia and Rep. Jen Kiggans of Virginia reintroduced the Chesapeake Bay Science, Education and Ecosystem Enhancement (SEEE) Act today.

“The Chesapeake Bay is integral to our way of life in Virginia’s 1st District and conserving our coastal and marine ecosystems has remained one of my top priorities,” Wittman, co-chair of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Task Force, said. “I am proud to join my colleagues in this effort to expand environmental education opportunities, boost state and local restoration efforts and provide NOAA with the resources it needs to protect this national treasure.”

Read the full article at Augusta Free Press

VIRGINIA: Omega Protein adds vessel to clean up net spills

July 9, 2023 — Menhaden fishing company Omega Protein has added a new vessel to its fleet in response to net spills last year that resulted in thousands of dead fish washing ashore on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

This season, the reduction fishery company is using the new 85-foot vessel called the Hopeful Harvest and two 20-foot skimmers to catch any fish lost due to a net spill during catching operations.

The Hopeful Harvest vessel will be docked while the company’s fishing vessels are out making their catches, explained company spokesperson Ben Landry. The vessel will be deployed when needed, with the skimmers being used to scoop up any dead fish and transfer them to Hopeful Harvest.

Because it takes dead fish that have sunk into the water as a result of a net spill about 24 hours to surface, the vessel should be able to collect any spilled fish before they reach the shore, Landry said.

“We’re excited to have a resource that we’ve wanted for a long time,” said Landry. “We’ve kind of tinkered with that idea for a while,” he added, saying high-profile spills last year spurred Omega Protein to conclude “it’s probably good to put a fast-forward on those plans.”

Read the full article at Virginia Mercury

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

Seafood Watch draft report hits Chespeake Bay oysters with “avoid” rating

June 1, 2023 — A Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program draft assessment downgrades the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) caught in the Chesapeake Bay “avoid,” drawing criticism from scientists, officials, conservationists, and fishers.

The draft report  rated wild-caught oysters in the U.S. states of Maryland and Virginia harvested both with hand implements and towed dredges as seafood to avoid, citing a “high concern” for the status of the stock and of the management of the fishery.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

VIMS to expand restoration of seagrass, bay scallops on Eastern Shore

May 23, 2023 — A team led by researchers at William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science will use a $2.25 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to expand their already successful efforts to restore seagrass and scallops to the seaside bays of Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

During the four-year project, led by Christopher Patrick and Richard Snyder of VIMS, scientists from the institute and its Eastern Shore Lab will join with staff and volunteers from The Nature Conservancy to plant at least 60 acres of eelgrass and release more than 6 million bay scallops into the shallow waters of Burtons Bay, a large coastal embayment about midway up Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Project funding comes from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act and will be administered by the Virginia Coastal Zone Management program.

Read the full article at William & Mary News

Virginia’s historic Black watermen communities are endangered

May 22, 2023 — Most days, James Douglas would be on the water by 5:30 in the morning, on the hunt for oysters.

He’d push off in his small boat from his family’s wharf on the Yeocomico River in Westmoreland County, the birthplace of the nation’s first president, George Washington, and, since 1824, of Douglas’ family, the Wilsons.

Douglas’ family has owned their waterfront property in Virginia’s Northern Neck since 1877. This is an astounding feat, considering few Black people were able to purchase land back then, and those that did were sometimes bullied by whites to give up their property or sell it for a pittance.

“Mitchell Wilson number one, he got a white fellow to buy it for him, and he split it up between all of his children and descendants,” said Douglas, sweeping his hand toward a ring of homes perched near the riverbank. “Those descendants, my family, are still here now.”

Read the full at Virginia Mercury

Omega Protein Fishing Partner Christens Two New Vessels, Reedville and Little River

May 7, 2023 — The following was released by Omega Protein:

Ocean Harvesters, Omega Protein’s fishing partner, kicked off the 2023 fishing season by christening two new vessels for the Atlantic menhaden fishery. The F/V Reedville and the F/V Little River are the two latest additions to the fleet of Ocean Harvesters, which fishes for menhaden in Virginia and operates a long-term supply contract with Omega Protein.

 

The vessels were christened on Saturday April 22 in a ceremony at Omega Protein’s facility in Reedville, Virginia. Kathy Deihl, Kelly Walker, Kristy Hall and Faye Hall, all long-time members of the local fishing community with ties to Omega Protein, served as sponsors of the vessels and assisted in breaking the ceremonial champagne bottles over their hulls. Hannah Long, the environmental manager for the Reedville plant, served as master of ceremonies, with remarks given by members of the Ocean Harvesters team.

F/V Reedville

“This is a symbol of continued investment,” said Monty Deihl, the CEO of Ocean Harvesters, as part of his opening remarks. “It’s not just [an investment] in the plant and in the vessel fleet, but it’s also an investment in the people here and the community of Reedville, and those people who are dependent on this business to support their families.”

F/V Little River

Both the Reedville and the Little River previously served in the Gulf of Mexico as supply ships for the offshore oil industry, before being acquired and refitted by the Omega Shipyard in Moss Point, Mississippi. Reedville was originally built in 1982, and will mark its first fishing season this year. Little River, built in 1977, began its new career fishing in 2020, but was officially christened this season after delays due to Covid.

Ocean Harvesters CEO Monty Deihl, delivering remarks at the ceremony

Reedville and Little River are names with storied histories in the fishery. Both names were previously bestowed on a pair of older, long-serving fishing vessels, which were converted from World War II service boats and then went on to work for decades catching menhaden.

F/V Reedville

“As a 3rd generation employee in the menhaden fishing industry, I am pleased to see this multimillion-dollar investment in the future of our business,” said Andy Hall, General Manager of Reedville Operations for Ocean Harvesters. “It represents Ocean Harvesters’ continuing commitment to provide our employees with the best, safest, and most state-of-the-art menhaden fishing vessels in the world. My hope is that the Reedville and Little River will fulfill their destinies of support to the local communities for decades to come, much like the original Reedville and Little River.”

 

VIRGINIA: Blessing of the fleet on Sunday to feature boat parade, ceremony

May 3, 2023 — The 51st blessing of the fleet will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 7, at the old Morris-Fisher factory tall stack on Omega Protein property at 610 Menhaden Road, Reedville. The event is sponsored by Omega Protein Inc. and St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.

The blessing of the fleet is a centuries-old tradition started in European fishing villages to bless the men at sea, reported Valli M. Mittner. Many fishing villages in the U.S. still bless their fleets each year.

Rev. Joie Baker Pierce, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Fleeton; Ref. Kaki Swann, Episcopal Diocese of Virginia; Rev. Jeffrey Patnaude, Grace Episcopal Church, Kilmarnock; and Rev. Willard Felton, Shiloh Baptist Church, Reedville will bless the fleet signaling….

Read the full article at Rappahannok Record