Bills To Protect "The Most Important Fish in the Sea" Drown in Indifference

The fish get no respect.

For the sixth year in a row, legislation has died in Virginia that would have more wisely managed menhaden, small but important filter-feeders that are a major source of food for the Chesapeake Bay’s larger fish.

A bill by Senator Ralph Northam of Norfolk (Senate Bill 765) died today in the Virginia Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee when he asked for a motion to report the bill favorably out of committee, and received no supporting votes.

That’s a swimming shame.  The legislation would have helped to discourage the chronic overfishing of menhaden. It would have moved responsibility for managing this complex fishery away from politicians in the state General Assembly and into the hands of the Virginia Marine Resources Committee, the state’s professional fishery managers, who oversee all other fish species.

Sadly, a similar bill, sponsor by state Del. John Cosgrove from Chesapeake (House Bill 2280), died last week.  And when I say “died,” I  mean it was squished by intense lobbying pressure from the East Coast’s last remaining industrial processor of menhaden, Omega Protein, and its many political allies.

Although all but two Eastern states, Virginia and North Carolina, have now outlawed catching of menhaden for industrial processing, Texas-based Omega continues to run a  large fleet of ships, spotter planes, and speed boats out of Reedville, Virginia, that surround and vacuum up millions of menhaden.

This can be a problem, because overharvesting of menhaden can deprive striped bass and other fish crucial sources of nourishment.  The disappearance of menhaden also means fewer filter-feeders to clean up the Bay’s waters. Author H. Bruce Wennersten called menhaden "The Most Important Fish in the Sea" in his 2007 book of the same name because of their central role in the ecosystem.

A report last  year by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission concluded that menhaden had been overfished 59 percent of the years in the more than half century studied, between 1955 and 2008, including in 2006, 2002, 1999, 1998 and 1996.

Menhaden populations have plummeted from more than 40 billion in the early 1980s to fewer than 5 billion in 2008, according to the report.

There is no question that menhaden need help.  And it just isn’t logical for lawmakers -– who are only in session a few months a year and are trained in other fields  -– to believe they have the flexibility or background to handle the complex task.

What will it take to change their minds?   Do menhaden have to suffer the same fate as striped bass in the 1970s and 1980s, when sharply declining numbers compelled the federal and state governments to take emergency action to save them by imposing a moratorium? 

We shouldn't have to wait for a crisis like that before we act to protect "The Most Important Fish in the Sea."

By Tom Pelton

Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Comments

[Alex]

Clearly it's common sense to have SCIENTISTS who understand the data and have DEGREES in fishery management to be the ones responsible for setting the catch limits. Why was the regulation of menhaden singled out and not transferred to VMRC back whenever VMRC took over the commercial fisheries in the first place? What was the reasoning behind that decision and their exclusion from common sense?

I know VA politicians are getting a lot of money in their pockets from Omega Protein to keep this from happening. When are they going to wake up and do the right thing?

[DARREN POWELL]

Despite testimony on its behalf from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Coastal Conservation Association Virginia, Del. John Cosgrove's measure drew fire from lawmakers, many of whom have accepted campaign contributions from, I know this will shock you, OMEGA PROTEIN.
And Gov. Bob McDonnell, who has accepted $55,745 from OP, has signaled that he would veto any menhaden bill that reached his desk. Glad we're open-minded about that, dude.

Just so we all understand how this is going to play out, here, according to the Virginia Public Access Project is what each member of the Chesapeake Subcommittee of the House Committee on Agriculture received since 2009 from Omega Protein:
Beverly Sherwood, $1,000; R. Lee Ware, $3,500; Edward Scott, $2,500; Brenda Pogge, $1,500; Lynnwood Lewis, $3,000; David Bulova, $1,000; Luke Porian, $250.
On Monday morning, companion bill SB765 will be heard by the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee.
Since 2008, chairwoman Patricia Ticer has accepted $3,000 from Omega. All but two of her committee colleagues have pocketed contributions totalling $6,500 over the last two years. One of those is the sponsor of SB765, Ralph Northam. The other guy must have been asleep when the checks came around.
I'm not a betting woman, but I'd say the deck is stacked.

this is just a sample but ive got more on who's getting what. no wonder they dont want to give it up and give up those $$$$

[Tom Pelton]

Thanks for the very informative info about campaign contributions, Darren. Very illuminating.

[rodney rooks]

This is a sad day. I have fished in the Chesapeake bay all my life and the last 4 years or so has been awful. I remeber when we could go out in the bay and catch all the fish we wanted but not now. This has to stop. Robbing the bay of the "filter fish" is wrong and then blame the farmers for runoff into the bay. Limit the amount of menhaden can be caught. The senators that had there votes bought by omega protien ought to be ousted.

[Omega protien]

Interesting subject for a blog. I have been searching the Internet for fun and came upon your website. Great post. Thanks a ton for sharing your knowledge! A great awarness on this topic is a must... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds8xyK-r65M Compliments for ur effort for the great blog post. I am glad I have taken the time to learn this.