HB 19 Atlantic menhaden; VIMS, et al., to study ecology, fishery impacts, and economic importance., introduced by Delegate R. Lee Ware (R-Powhatan/72), was delayed until 2025 by the Virginia House of Delegates Rules-Studies Subcommittee earlier this week.
The bill directed “the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in collaboration with the Marine Resources Commission and certain stakeholders to study the ecology, fishery impacts, and economic importance of the Atlantic menhaden population in the waters of the Commonwealth” and to report to the House and Senate, among others, by 2027.
Disappointment, frustration, and questions after Virginia lawmakers delay fish study bill without explanation reports that the Delegate Ware stated that the study partners reached an agreement on moving forward with the study (video 2:04). However, Chesapeake Bay Foundation states in Crucial Menhaden Study Delayed by Virginia House Subcommittee “Omega Protein previously backed the development of a scientific framework for a local menhaden population study. But as the 2024 legislative session progressed, the company’s lobbying efforts paved the way for lawmakers to punt funding the study into next year.”
Other coverage of the delay:
- House committee delays action on study of menhaden in Chesapeake Bay (Virginia Mercury)
- Conservation Community Responds After Menhaden Study Bill Again Stalled by Virginia Lawmakers (Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership)
- Democrat controlled committee votes to postpone menhaden study (Shore Daily News)
The full text of the legislation:
That the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) in collaboration with the Marine Resources Commission and with the cooperation of relevant stakeholders, including recreational anglers, the reduction and bait fishery sectors, and nongovernmental organizations, shall conduct a three-year study of the ecology, fishery impacts, and economic importance of the Atlantic menhaden population in the waters of the Commonwealth. The study shall address (i) the seasonal abundance of Atlantic menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay; (ii) the movement rates of Atlantic menhaden between the Atlantic coast and the Chesapeake Bay; (iii) the impacts of predator demand and consumption of Atlantic menhaden on the Atlantic menhaden population; (iv) the spatial and temporal patterns of the Atlantic menhaden commercial fishing effort in the Chesapeake Bay; (v) the possibility of localized depletion of Atlantic menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay; (vi) changes in recreational fisheries in the Chesapeake Bay; (vii) the economic impacts of management decisions on the Atlantic menhaden fisheries and related industries; (viii) the social and economic importance of Atlantic menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay region; and (ix) the bioeconomic impact of fisheries removing Atlantic menhaden from the waters of the Commonwealth. VIMS shall report its findings and any recommendations to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources, and the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources by October 1, 2027. (Source)