I hope they get shut down.....


CRYSTAL CITY -- A coastwide fisheries panel will give Virginia its allotted time to comply with a July 1 deadline to cap the industrial harvest of menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Menhaden Management Board, meeting in Northern Virginia yesterday, could have tentatively declared the state out of compliance with an earlier commission order to limit the catch.

By deferring a compliance decision until its August meeting, the board demonstrated its faith in Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's apparent desire to cap Omega Protein Co.'s catch in compliance with an earlier board vote.

At stake is the entire Virginia harvest of menhaden, which is a key bait for the region's blue crab fishery and which Omega uses to produce meals and oils, used chiefly for animal feeds and industrial purposes. If Virginia fails to impose the cap, the fisheries commission could trigger a federal ban on all harvesting of the species in Virginia waters.

Kaine announced last month that he wanted to impose menhaden limits but said the legislation that gives him that power also prevents him from exercising it while the General Assembly is in session. The legislature remains stalled in the longest-running session in Virginia history in which it has been unable to agree on a budget.

In contrast to Kaine's stated willingness to embrace a cap, the legislature gave the idea a chilly reception this winter. Several bills either died or were withdrawn that would have enacted the fisheries commission's mandated limits.

Howard King, director of Maryland's Fisheries Service and a menhaden management board member, said he was sympathetic to Kaine's dilemma. King told the board he was willing to give Virginia the benefit of the doubt "until such time it is obvious Virginia will not comply" after the July 1 deadline.

Yesterday's short and civil meeting of dozens of representatives from the 14 coastal states, contrasted sharply with the protracted and tense face-off between Omega and its critics who fear the company is depleting the menhaden population in the bay. Critics suspect a decline in menhaden is stressing popular sports fish, such as striped bass, and reducing the sheer mass of menhaden filter-feeders, straining pollution-causing plankton from bay waters.

Tensions reached a peak last summer when Greenpeace members in inflatable boats and outboards staged a protest rally in front of Omega's fish factory in Reedville.

The menhaden management board voted in August despite the objection of its Virginia representatives and Omega Protein Co. to limit Omega's annual bay catch of menhaden to about 106,000 metric tons -- the company's average harvest from 2000 through 2004.

As approved, the cap lasts for five years and gives scientists time to learn more about menhaden populations in the bay and the effect of natural predation and human harvest on them.

The huge catches that Omega lands in Reedville make the town at the tip of the Northern Neck the second-largest port in the country in terms of landed weight.

Omega processes the fish, which are inedible, into meal and oil used for animal feeds, industrial purposes and most recently food-grade oils with healthful Omega-3 fatty acids.


Contact staff writer Lawrence Latané III at llatane@timesdispatch.com or (804) 333-3461.

I hope the whole fishery is shut down. The population in LIS sound tanked because of those stupid boats harvesting them. 50 years ago their were schools of these things everywhere, the the Blue's and Stripers were fat and happy. Now not so many bunker and not as many fish to catch.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

The menhaden processing plant at Cameron was destroyed by Hurricane Rita, one of many blessing wrought by Mo Nat Chur but concealed by the awful human tragedy. Around here we call menhaden "pogies". I have know reason why. The aroma from the factory can be smelled for miles and miles.

Have you ever watched the harvesting? They have scout airplanes that find the schools and send out coasters to harvest. I can't imagine the scale of harvest can be anything but detrimental to dependent species. Not to mention by-catch.

Yep I have seen how they do it. Large nets will suround a school. If they are skilled pretty much the entire school and whatever is swimming with them is caught.

I usually support comercial fishing, but this is one fishery I can't wait to see the death off.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Whoa, good thread. Almost missed it and it had my name in it!

I know a lot less about Menhaden that the rest of you here -- I never even heard of the fish until I read an article in Mother Jones awhile back. Let's hope that wiser heads prevail in this issue.

FWIW, a friend of mine in AK was building a house for a guy who was a spotter pilot for herring schools up in those parts. Not sure if over-fishing herring has hurt AK's fisheries, but I hear they keep a pretty tight rein on it, AK fishery officials that is.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

I believe VA is the only state in the country not to have a cap. These MFers are out 24/7 rounding these fish up. I have never understood it--they put like a 10 year moratorium on rockfishing and cleaned up the James River to bring back the oyster populations and won't cap menhaden harvest. Omega must have one hell of a lobby. I truly hope the gov. doesn't do anything and the fishery gets shut down. I have seen the Greenpeace guys messing with the Menhaden boats before--not real smart.

It's a bit of a stretch, but according this Mother Jones article, the company is what's left of H.W. Bush's oil company. Could be some heavyweight connections going on.

I've got mixed feelings about the Greenpeace interdictions myself. Might be helpful, might not.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

George sold the company in 1966, 40 years ago. After which the company went fishing for menhaden. From Mother Jones (one of my sisters' favorite magazines).

THE COLLAPSE of the Atlantic menhaden industry allowed one company to gain almost exclusive control of the endangered fishery. In 1953, during the heyday of the Atlantic menhaden industry, George H.W. Bush cofounded Zapata Corporation, a wildcatting oil and gas exploration company headquartered in Houston. After Bush sold his stake in Zapata in 1966, the company began to branch out into fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, “wringing oil out of fish,” as one business journal snidely put it. In the early 1990s, reclusive real estate mogul Malcolm Glazer took control of Zapata, installed his son Avram as president and CEO, sold off the company’s oil and gas interests, purchased the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (forcing the city to impose a sales tax, still in effect, to build a grandiose new stadium), and turned Zapata into a mere shell for a subsidiary with a jazzy new name more fit for a health-food company—Omega Protein.

The Most Important Fish You Never Heard Of

Hey, well at least you read it. You might have noted I said it was a bit of a stretch. My point was, what do we know about what kind of fraternal connections still exist in that scene. One thing is certain, the MoFos kept doing it long after a lot of informed opinion was agin' it. Like John Doe said, some kind of strong, well connected lobby.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Good one. I'm passing that along to some colleagues.

That is a good one. Appears to have been inspired directly by the MJ articles: they interview a MJ writer.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Off topic, but this reference jogged a dusty old memory free. I used to work on an oilfield supply boat out of Houma, LA called the M/V James River. I'd be at the helm and some good ol' boy would hail me: "Hey, Jaaymes Rivah, come on now. Gotch'yer ears on?" Just love that accent.

IIRC, herring used to be one of the biggest money making fisheries in the US at one point. The Japanese pay big dollah for the roe. My first experience in Alaska was aboard a floating processor boat that did the herring season first, down in the southeast and central coast, then shifted to Salmon up in Bristol Bay. Lots of folks made a killing back then...just not peon processors like me. Made a decent living when I moved up to the deck on production boats, but those days are long gone. And good riddance to that whole unethical industry, anyway. What a disgrace.

The weekly magazine near my house (20 mi. or so from the James) is called "The Rivah."

The tidewater accent (which my mother has) is as follows: "Thayas a moose in the hoose get it oot." trans: There's a mouse in the house, get it out.

Zeit, you didn't work for Trico Marine, did you? My brother in law is their global director of recruiting.

A'yup, Trico ran all the "River" boats. The second and final boat I worked down there (I forget the name, it was the xxxx River) was tied up at the dock in Morgan City. They had me down in the cement tanks vacuuming up the loose and solid remnants. It was 95 degrees with 90% humidity and the decks were painted black. Care to guess what the temp was down in those tanks? Sweat and cement dust don't make for a pleasant combo. I lasted for barely a week, then jumped into my Scirocco in the middle of the night, and headed back to Austin, never looking back. I probably wasn't too popular in the Trico office for a while, but I think they're used to a fairly high attrition rate anyway.