Bill passed by Senate proposes study of menhaden populations

The state Senate passed a bill Wednesday to fund a study by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science to calculate menhaden populations in the state.

The study would survey the number of fish over 18 months and the amount of bycatch — the unintended fish caught in the nets.

The menhaden population along the Atlantic coast is considered healthy according to the Atlantic States Marine Fishery Commission, but groups such as the Virginia Saltwater Sport Fishing Association and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation want to know the numbers in the bay. Other fish, including striped bass, dine on menhaden.

“Just because we have a healthy population on the coastline does not mean there aren’t questions locally we need to answer,” said Chris Moore, senior regional ecosystems scientist at the foundation.

Ken Pinkard, a member of the state’s Menhaden Management Advisory Committee, opposes the bill because he said the fishery commission data is enough. Omega Protein, which catches menhaden for fish meal and fish oil pills, also opposes the bill.

The fishing association and 21 other groups signed a letter to Gov. Glenn Youngkin in June asking him to close the bay to Omega’s reduction fishing. The letter followed net spills by Omega that resulted in thousands of dead menhaden washing up on Hampton Roads shores. Omega, based in Reedville, is the East Coast’s only reduction fishery.

“It continues to be a bone of contention as to the health of that fishery,” said Sen. Lynwood Lewis, who introduced the bill Feb. 3 in a senate committee meeting.

In December, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission heard testimony on proposed regulations that would limit menhaden fishing in the bay, which included a 1-mile buffer along shorelines and restricting fishing around summer holidays, as well as some weekends. The commission instead signed a memorandum of understanding with similar guidelines with two bait companies and Omega but the agreement carries no legal weight.

Del. Tim Anderson, R-Virginia Beach, introduced a bill in January that would have stopped reduction fishing for two years to study its impact.

“Virginia is the only state that allows reduction commercial fishing in state waters,” Anderson said in January. “From Maine to Florida, every state has made this illegal.”

The bill died in committee.

Lewis’ bill, which moves to a House committee on Monday, hopes to answer how many other fish get scooped up in the nets.

Omega submits catch data to the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service. Federal rules, however, can prevent the reports from being made public if doing so would reveal the identity of the submitter. That would be difficult for Omega since it is the only reduction company of its kind on the coast.

The study will make that data readily available if passed.