Letter to the Editor

April 12, 2006

Fish Oil and Watered-Down Pilot Politics Don’t Mix

The Virginia Pilot should have studied the matter a more closely before publishing it recent editorial on fish (“If Only Menhaden Wrote Campaign Checks”, April 10, 2006) .  Its editorial position ignores the facts, and unfortunately reveals an apparent disdain of hard working watermen of the Chesapeake Bay.

The menhaden is a small, oily member of the herring family found in enormous schools within the Chesapeake and along the entire Atlantic coastline.  Since the colonial era, Virginian watermen have harvested these plentiful fish for use as fertilizer, livestock feed and, more recently, heart-healthy omega-3 oils. 

Menhaden are so numerous that, even with modern fishing technology including sonar and spotter planes, commercial fishermen are still only able to annually harvest two out of every 1,000 menhaden swimming in the wild.[1]  Yet, apparently, two fish is two too many for the Pilot’s editorial staff and its like-minded sport fishing constituency.

According to the Pilot, menhaden have “big problems”.  The Pilot would also have its readers believe that no harvest limits exist.  Neither claim is accurate.  In reality, our local, state and federal fisheries scientists conclude that menhaden populations remain “healthy” and overfishing is not occurring.[2]  Additionally, the largest commercial harvesting operation in the Bay, Omega Protein, instituted a voluntary harvest quota of 131,000mt last year to promote the continued conservation of these fish.  This quota reinforces regulatory measures already in place including mesh size limits, as well as time and area closures.

Unfortunately, the Pilot would similarly have its readers believe that our legislators in Richmond won’t take additional (albeit, unnecessary) steps to conserve menhaden, because “fish don’t write checks”.  However, while the Pilot scorns the  “corrosive power”  of campaign contributions in politics, the Pilot has been busy behind the scenes making its own campaign contributions whenever it saw fit – including recent support for local politicians including Harry Purkey ($3,348), Kenny Alexander ($1,317) and, naturally, Governor Kaine.[3]

Finally, the Pilot suggests that the federal government might “ban all menhaden fishing in the Bay” because our legislators did not implement a lower harvest quota amount.  Such talk is nonsense.  In reality, though, the federal government is already on the record as supporting the current harvest quota of 131,000 mt.[4]  Moreover, after specifically considering this issue,  Virginia’s Attorney General recently concluded in a carefully-reasoned advisory opinion that the Commonwealth is not out of compliance with any legitimate, mandatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission conservation measure that might trigger such a federal moratorium. 

In sum, on the subject of menhaden and politics, while the Pilot’s slick editorial staff may champion its sport fishing elite constituency over the blue collar waterman, truth shouldn’t be sacrificed to sell more copy or placate a vocal constituency. We simple Virginians deserve the opportunity to form our own conclusions based upon an unbiased presentation of the facts.

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The Menhaden Resource Council is an educational and informational organization supported by the menhaden industry. For more information on the menhaden resource please visit the MRC Web site at www.menhaden.org.