To members of the Eastern Shore of Virginia Anglers Club:
This is a followup to a discussion at Monday’s meeting.
Each member of the club is also a member of the Virginia Saltwater Sportfishing Association (VSSA), as the club has been a supporting member of VSSA for several years. VSSA has been advocating for the prohibition of industrial menhaden fishing (seine netting for the reduction industry) in Chesapeake Bay, to help increase the Bay’s population of that fish and the many species that depend on it. If this came about, industrial fishing would still take place in the ocean, and any Bay quota would be absorbed into the ocean fishing quota.
VSSA has initiated a petition to stop industrial menhaden fishing in Chesapeake Bay, and is promoting this with several conservation organizations, including Keep America Fishing. You can help by signing the petition, which is linked in the message below.
If you prefer, you can also go directly to the VSSA website https://joinvssa.org to sign the petition and to learn more about this effort.
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TELL GOVERNOR YOUNGKIN TO STOP INDUSTRIAL MENHADEN FISHING IN THE CHESAPEAKE BAYAs anglers, we all know the old adage, “big fish eat small fish.” Menhaden are one of those “little fish” that are an important food source for the “big fish” that we like to catch such as striped bass, bluefish and many others. These little fish, and the big fish that depend on them, need your help.Atlantic menhaden play a vital role in coastal ecosystems by serving as the base of the food chain for larger fish, marine mammals, and seabirds.
Yet, millions of pounds of these valuable fish are being removed from the Chesapeake Bay and “reduced” into fish meal and oil for pet food and salmon feed by a single foreign-owned company.
The latest science shows that reduction fishing for menhaden causes substantial declines in Atlantic striped bass, which are now considered “overfished.” At a time when anglers are being asked to make sacrifices to protect striped bass, menhaden reduction fishing should be moved out of the largest striped bass nursery on the East Coast.
Conservation organizations across Virginia, including the American Sportfishing Association, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Coastal Conservation Association and the Virginia Saltwater Sportfishing Association, are calling on Governor Youngkin to take action now.
Please take a minute to ask Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin to protect the Chesapeake Bay and our fishing opportunities from the negative impacts of industrial menhaden fishing. |
