Virginian-Pilot reporter Scott Harper once said, “humans do not eat menhaden, but just about everything else in the marine environment does.” That was 22 years ago.
Today, that remains at the heart of a decades-long feud. Is there enough menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay to support the ecosystem and industrial products like fish oil and fish food?
The answer: We don’t know.
But, this year, we may be on the road to finding out with a federal bill headed to the president’s desk allocating $2.5 million for a study by NOAA. Then there’s, a General Assembly bill requesting a study, and a petition to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, also requesting a study And, there’s even an industry-funded study.
But some see studies as just more politics.
What I see here, which is a little cynical, is an effort to continue to study," says David Reed with Chesapeake Legal Alliance. "It's just, 'well, can I have another three million dollars to do a different study?' And then when that's done, 'can I have another three million dollars for another preliminary study?' And it just feels like a road to nowhere. And I am concerned that some of the decision-making for the scientific studies is in an effort to delay, frankly."
David Reed is a former biologist turned lawyer, who is now executive director of the Chesapeake Legal Alliance. They provide free legal services to protect the Chesapeake Bay watershed. While it was not involved in the latest VMRC petition, it has been behind two others directed at the industrial fishing that supplies Omega Protein with hundreds of thousands of tons of Atlantic menhaden each year.
"It's hard because there's some nobility there," Reed says, "the fishermen and plant workers at Omega for these guys and gals going out on these fishing boats when they're going out into federal waters and there's rough seas."
Omega Protein has one reduction plant here that is supplied by six state-of-the-art fishing vessels and six spotter planes. The company maintains there’s no problem to address as they fish sustainably and previous science proves it.
Still, history tells a different story. A 1975 NOAA report cites the disappearance of older menhaden and large catches from 1954 to 1968 as a result of more fishing efficiency, more vessels and a longer season.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.