January 17, 2014 — “Big job to patch up the Chesapeake Bay,” begins as an informed, thoughtful reflection on the bay’s exposure to pollution and neglect. But it takes an unfortunate turn when its author, Bill Bartlett, levels factually inaccurate allegations regarding Omega Protein
A Jan. 8 letter published in your paper, “Big job to patch up the Chesapeake Bay,” begins as an informed, thoughtful reflection on the bay’s exposure to pollution and neglect. But it takes an unfortunate turn when its author, Bill Bartlett, levels factually inaccurate allegations regarding Omega Protein, suggesting that our menhaden harvesting operations in the bay play a similar role as years of excessive pollution in the decline of the bay’s health. That assertion, and Mr. Bartlett’s portrayal of Omega Protein as being unconcerned with environmental sustainability, could not be further from the truth.
Contrary to Mr. Bartlett’s published claim, Omega Protein removes nowhere near 600 million pounds of menhaden from the Chesapeake Bay each year. That figure is flatly false, and the true number is far lower. Our 2013 landings, for example, totaled 121 million pounds. Similarly, our average landings during the last decade, including one of our largest years of harvest, total about 250 million pounds per year, literally hundreds of millions of pounds fewer than Mr. Bartlett alleges in his letter.
Read the full opinion piece at Southern Maryland Newspapers Online