Virginia fishermen call on President Trump to protect menhaden in Chesapeake Bay

A group of anglers is calling on President Donald Trump to sign an executive order to protect menhaden, a protein-rich forage fish, from overfishing, which they say has led to the species’ declining population and puts the food chain in the Chesapeake Bay at risk. Reliable data on how menhaden harvests impact other species in the bay is not available, despite multiple attempts to fund a state-level study.

“So at this point, we’ve had enough. It is time for strong executive action to put America first by protecting these important forage fish,” said Steve Atkinson, chairman of the Virginia Saltwater Sportfishing Association.
 ”Leave them in the water where they can fulfill their ecological role and protect Virginia’s billion dollar recreational fishing economy.”

Virginia is the only state that allows industrial-scale menhaden fishing on the East Coast. The group is asking the president to ban industrial reduction fishing to preserve not only the bait fish but the other species that rely on menhaden, herring, and other forage fish on the Atlantic coast. The fishermen say state legislative leaders may not have the capacity or willingness to enact such protections. 

“Most of our politicians don’t understand the importance of this fish, and in fact, many of them don’t know the difference between a menhaden and an oyster to be honest,” Atkinson said.
 ”They have a lot of issues they deal with, and they’re not always open to spend a lot of time learning about this. And we’ve been trying, but it’s a challenge.”

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