The Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) voted 5-3 on April 23 in Newport News to deny a petition from the Chesapeake Legal Alliance and the Southern Maryland Recreational Fishing Organization that would have placed a moratorium on menhaden purse seine fishing in the Virginia waters of the Chesapeake. Mr.
Virginia is the only state on the Atlantic coast that allows a substantial reduction in menhaden fishing.
Omega Protein, owned by Cooke Inc. of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, and Ocean Harvesters, fish processing and harvesting companies, are the largest menhaden fish reduction companies operating on the East Coast. Omega and Ocean Harvesters are two of the largest employers in the Northern Neck of Virginia and the corporate offices are located in Reedville.
The petition also called for the VMRC to request:
- At least 40% of the harvest will be caught from federal waters.
- Set a limit of no more than 60% of current purse seine menhaden landings within Virginia waters.
- Codify a one-mile shoreline buffer and establish a permanent one-nautical mile buffer along the Virginia coast that prohibits the use of menhaden purse seines.
- Fund and implement menhaden population studies.
- Implement and improve the Atlantic Menhaden Research proposal to investigate localized depletion to determine local impacts of menhaden fishing in the Chesapeake Bay.
- Establish proper industry oversight that requires increased monitoring and reporting of vessels and landings to ensure compliance and minimize bycatch and impacts on bay habitats.
In all these items, the pros and cons were discussed at the meeting. In the end, VMRC commissioners resisted passing a motion by commissioner Heather Lusk and led by commissioner Patrick Hand to consider a permanent one-nautical mile restricted buffer along all Virginia coastlines and for more monitoring and -reporting to ensure compliance and reduce bycatch.
The motion did not reach a vote because commissioners rejected the cost of paying fish inspectors on menhaden vessels and felt that the partial one-nautical mile shoreline buffer established last year in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between VMRC and Ocean Harvesters/Omega Proteins agreeing to place limits on menhaden fishing in certain areas of the Chesapeake Bay is sufficient.
The MOU restricts areas in the bay to fish on weekends during busy recreational holidays; no fishing within half a mile on either side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel; and not to fish within a one-mile limit on a portion of the Eastern Shore in the Chesapeake Bay and on the western shore in the Hampton area.
Executive Director for CLA David Reed said the MOU is nothing more than a “handshake agreement with no penalties for violations (and in some ways) it’s less of a handshake agreement,” said he.
VMRC officials said the MOU is more than a “handshake agreement” and there have been no violations of the MOU by Ocean Harvesters since the agreement was finalized…
