August 8, 2024 — The saga of the future of Virginia’s menhaden reduction fishery on Chesapeake Bay continues to unfold as the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Menhaden Management Board approved a motion on Tuesday Aug 6 that could lead to further regulations of the fishery.
The management board approved a motion to establish a “workgroup” to consider and evaluate “precautionary options” in the regulation of the state’s menhaden fishery.
This includes considering time and area closures of Virginia’s menhaden reduction fishery “to be protective of piscivorous birds and fish during critical points of their life cycle.”
The approval to create a workgroup came on the heels of a motion made by Maryland commissioner Lynn Fegley, who serves as director of Fishing and Boat Services at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
She introduced a motion to “initiate an Addendum (document) to the Atlantic Menhaden Interstate Management plan that would regulate menhaden purse net fishing of boats over 300 tons.” This was specifically directed at the Virginia owned Ocean Harvesters fleet out of Reedville, Va., the only menhaden reduction fishery fleet on the East Coast.
Fegley’s motion stated that the “document should include seasonal (fishing) closures of Chesapeake Bay waters (inside the COLREGs line)” but should not consider changes in the bay menhaden cap of 51,000 metric tons currently allowed from Virginia waters.