FishRook
A group of anglers in Maryland has taken legal action against Virginia fishery managers over harvesting of menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay—a lucrative little fish for Omega Protein that is also a forage fish for larger Bay species.
Chesapeake Legal Alliance on behalf of the Southern Maryland Recreation Fishing Organization (SMRFO) filed a lawsuit against Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) over the commission’s approval of a regulation to increase the state’s menhaden commercial fishing quota.
The suit, filed in the City of Richmond’s circuit court on May 10, alleges that VMRC’s vote in April not to amend a regulation by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) that allows an increase in the state’s commercial quota “have the effect of increasing the total menhaden catch by 21,000 metric tons of fish,” harming southern Maryland recreational fishermen and the Bay’s ecosystem.
“This will result in degradation of the…
