Saving Seafood

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

VIRGINIA: Dominion Energy renews deal with Virginia Beach to buy land for more offshore wind

June 17, 2026 — The utility would use onshore infrastructure at the site for a wind farm off the Outer Banks.

The Virginia Beach Development Authority last week approved an option agreement with Dominion Energy for land that could support a future offshore wind project.

The deal allows the utility to buy about 30 acres at Corporate Landing Business Park within the next five years, which it could use for an onshore substation and grid interconnection point.

It is not related to the 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, or CVOW, currently under construction about 27 miles east of the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.

Dominion’s eyeing the land for another possible project about 25 miles south, in North Carolina. The lease area, which the utility calls CVOW South, is located off the Outer Banks coast.

Read the full article the WHRO

Virginia’s fishing industry has the blue catfish blues

June 15, 2026 — Over the last decade, invasive blue catfish have outcompeted nearly every native fish and shellfish in the Chesapeake Bay, putting generational watermen and fishmongers out of business. But if managed correctly, researchers from Virginia Tech’s Seafood and Agricultural Research & Extension Center in Hampton believe this invasive fish could spur a lucrative new commercial fishery with an annual economic impact of over $1 billion.

Native to the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio river basins, blue catfish were introduced to Virginia’s rivers in the 1970s as a new trophy fishery for recreational anglers.

As blue catfish populations grew and food supplies ran short in the James, Rappahannock and York rivers, blue catfish began venturing beyond their freshwater habitats into the brackish waters of the Chesapeake Bay.

Michael Schwarz, associate director of the Virginia Tech center, estimated that between 750 million and 1 billion pounds of blue catfish now swim in the Chesapeake Bay. Their collective biomass is greater than every other Chesapeake Bay species combined. And their habitat is still expanding — blue catfish have made their way into North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

“It’s an uncontrolled invasive species that is eating all of our traditional species that our seafood industries rely on,” Schwarz said.

Surging catfish populations and diminished native fisheries are causing a state of emergency across the industry, said Shelby White, a researcher at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in Gloucester.

Read the full article at VPM

NORTH CAROLINA: Dominion to buy land for North Carolina offshore wind project

June 12, 2026 — Dominion Energy will purchase 32 acres in a Virginia Beach business park for an onshore substation and grid connection point to serve a wind farm project planned off the coast of North Carolina.

The land sale in Corporate Landing Business Park was approved at a Development Authority meeting on Tuesday. The authority owns the property and had originally approved Dominion’s purchase option in 2019, but the agreement expired last year. The purchase price will be based on a forthcoming appraisal, but the agreement guarantees it will exceed $6 million, or at least $200,000 per acre.

Read the full article at Yahoo! News

VIRGINIA: Virginia offshore wind panel discusses Dominion, potential for future projects

June 8, 2026 — No Dominion Energy representative was in attendance at the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority meeting earlier this week – even as the utility hopes state regulators sign off on a massive merger.

The panel, which was established in 2010, works to foster development of the industry through research and makes recommendations to help projects reach fruition.

Dominion and NextEra Energy announced a merger in May, which will be subject to “detailed scrutiny” from state regulators in Virginia and North Carolina before being finalized.

Read the full article at WHRO