Va. regulator worried about Chesapeake Bay menhaden catch

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — This year’s menhaden catch so far in the Chesapeake Bay is worrying Virginia’s top fisheries regulator.

Virginia Marine Resources Commissioner Steven Bowman wrote that Virginia-based company Omega Protein has already caught 75% of the bay’s quota for the oily fish. A company spokesman tells the Daily Press of Newport News that Omega won’t exceed the cap. The company operates a fish oil and fishmeal plant in Reedville.

Differing quotas led to confrontation between Virginia and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in 2019.

Bowman says the state could face a moratorium and further quota cuts if this year’s cap is exceeded.

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