When the Virginia General Assembly convened last week, five bills aimed at the menhaden industry hit the hoppers.
Some were perennials. State Sen. Ralph Northam of the Eastern Shore and Gloucester and Del. John Cosgrove of Chesapeake filed bills that would move management of the industry from the General Assembly to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC). Del. Harry R. Purkey of Virginia Beach filed a bill that would ban commercial menhaden fishing inside of one mile from shore between Newport News and Virginia Beach.
Others were new Del. Watkins Abbitt of Southside Virginia filed a bill that would charge the industry, which is almost entirely made up of Omega Protein in Reedville, $10 for every ton of menhaden to fund a VMRC study of the health of the menhaden stocks. Del. Jackson Miller, who sees the Rappahannock River when he drives to Richmond from his Manassas district, put in a bill that would ban menhaden fishing in the river's entirety.
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