• Recreational angling, boating and conservation community disappointed that state legislative efforts to fund menhaden science in the Chesapeake Bay failed in session
(RICHMOND, Va.)— During the 2025 legislative session, Virginia lawmakers again failed to approve multiple efforts from both sides of the aisle to provide funding for the Virginia Institute of Marine Science to complete a three-year study of the ecology, fishery impacts, and economic importance of the menhaden population in the waters of the Commonwealth. Three separate efforts to fund the research through the state budget, for which the conference report was released by legislators this week, were squashed in this year’s session. The efforts were opposed by Omega Protein, the only reduction fishing company operating in Virginia.
Delegate Paul Milde (R-64) first introduced House Bill 2713, which would have directed the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, in collaboration with VIMS, to conduct the menhaden study. In addition, an amendment to the state’s biennial budget, falling under HB 1600 as Item 148 #4h, sought to earmark funding separately for the same study. Both efforts were stopped in the House without a hearing. A third effort, spearheaded by Delegate Betsy Carr (D-78), which would have provided the first year of funding for the study directly to VIMS as a “research collaboration,” was removed during final budget negotiations with the Senate.
Atlantic menhaden, the target of Virginia’s largest commercial fishery, are a small, schooling fish harvested to be turned into fishmeal and fish oil products through a process known as “reduction” fishing. Due to their high oil content, menhaden – also called bunker – serve as the base of the marine food chain in Virginia, feeding iconic predators like striped bass, bluefish, and ospreys, especially inside the Chesapeake Bay. Currently, there is little data available related to how many menhaden are within the Bay throughout the year, or how reduction fishing affects the Bay’s fragile ecosystem.
“Although Atlantic menhaden are managed on a coastwide basis, there remains a lack of specific data related to how many menhaden are present within the Chesapeake Bay itself and the effects of removing them through large-scale industrial harvest,” said Chris Macaluso, director of the Center for Marine Fisheries for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “We greatly appreciate the efforts of Delegates Milde and Carr for trying to help fish and wildlife managers at the state and regional level. Unfortunately, other Virginia lawmakers weren’t willing to support those efforts again this year, but recreational fishing advocates and a wide range of fisheries conservationists remain strongly committed to pushing for the science needed to properly manage the fisheries in Chesapeake Bay.”
Representatives from Omega Protein, Virginia’s lone menhaden reduction harvester and a subsidiary of Canadian-owned Cooke Seafood, initially supported and participated in the development of the unfunded VIMS study in summer 2023. However, during the 2024 legislative session, they opposed a bill similar to the one introduced this session.
Omega representatives also stalled efforts by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in 2021 to conduct research on the impacts of menhaden reduction fishing in Chesapeake Bay by not sharing their harvest data with fisheries managers.
“This is not just bad news for fishermen, but bad news for a Chesapeake Bay ecosystem that continues to scream warnings about menhaden,” said Chris Moore, Virginia executive director, Chesapeake Bay Foundation. “For years, we’ve lacked the baseline knowledge we need to establish robust and lasting sustainability for menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay. Unfortunately, only one foreign-owned entity continues to stand in the way of good science and that is Omega Protein, the largest harvester of menhaden on the Atlantic Coast.”
A coalition of 17 national and regional recreational angling, boating, and conservation groups signed a letter in support of this year’s legislative efforts. In addition, more than 24,000 Virginians and other conservationists concerned with Chesapeake fisheries have recently signed a petition by TRCP and CBF, asking Virginia decision-makers to support and protect the Chesapeake Bay and recreational fishing opportunities by funding the science necessary to manage this critical fish.
“We are disheartened that three separate attempts to advance critical fisheries science were unsuccessful,” said Chad Tokowicz, Government Relations Manager at the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas. “Menhaden are a keystone species in the Chesapeake Bay, supporting the entire marine food web, including economically important sportfish species such as striped bass, red drum, and cobia. By failing to fund this important research, Virginia lawmakers have missed an opportunity to support a healthier menhaden population, which would enhance the Bay’s ecosystem and create more recreational opportunities for anglers and boaters.”
“It’s very concerning that our lawmakers are listening to lobbyists and prioritizing the profits of the Canadian menhaden industry over the health of the Chesapeake Bay,” said Steve Atkinson, chairman, Virginia Saltwater Sportfishing Association.
“Restoring authority to manage the Bay’s menhaden fishery to qualified fisheries managers was finally achieved after years of effort by Virginia’s conservation community. In order to execute the recovery of this keystone species, a robust study of the fishery’s populations is both critical and necessary,” said Pat Calvert, director, Water & Land Conservation Programs, Virginia Conservation Network. “This opportunity is not promised in the future.”
“I am not surprised that the few who benefit from the current management plans don’t want a study like this to be completed,” said Brett Fitzgerald, executive director, Angler Action Foundation. “Once the public sees how local economies would benefit from improved menhaden management, it will be much more difficult for the status quo to continue.”
More information about the importance of Atlantic menhaden is available on TRCP’s Forage Fish Recovery Page.