WASHINGTON, D.C. / August 20, 2026

The Washington Post today published an opinion column by Mark Robichaux which misleadingly portrayed Atlantic and Gulf menhaden fisheries as ecologically destructive, weakly regulated and headed toward crisis. Readers unfamiliar with these fisheries may likely come away believing that menhaden stocks are collapsing, predators are being starved by commercial fishing, and regulators have largely failed to act. Which was Mr. Robichaux's point.

REEDVILLE, VA / August 14, 2026

The F/V Calcasieu Pass, a retired menhaden fishing vessel formerly operated by Ocean Harvesters, was intentionally sunk Wednesday, August 12, at Delaware Reef Site 13, approximately 26 miles off Indian River Inlet.

ARLINGTON, VA / August 5, 2026

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Atlantic Menhaden Management Board today voted to release Draft Addendum II to Amendment 3 of the Atlantic Menhaden Interstate Fishery Management Plan for public comment, despite the document's failure to establish a demonstrated biological problem necessitating the new restrictions it proposes.

REEDVILLE, VA / August 5, 2026

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today affirmed the dismissal of a False Claims Act lawsuit brought by private relators W. Benson Chiles and Chris Manthey against Ocean Harvesters, Cooke Inc., Omega Protein and other defendants. The lawsuit arose from allegations concerning applications for and the issuance of fishery endorsements under the American Fisheries Act.

REEDVILLE, VA / August 3, 2026

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Atlantic Menhaden Management Board is considering Draft Addendum II to Amendment 3 of the Atlantic Menhaden Interstate Fishery Management Plan, which proposes further reductions to the Chesapeake Bay Reduction Fishery Cap, automatically linking the Bay Cap to the coastwide total allowable catch, and directing Virginia to divide the cap into seasonal quotas.

REEDVILLE, VA / July 20, 2026

We thank The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press for respectfully providing the opportunity for both sides of an Atlantic menhaden debate to appear in their pages. In a June 30 guest column, Ocean Harvesters CEO Monty Deihl questioned whether an academic paper recently published with Dr. Bryan Watts as the lead author is appropriate to use in arguments against menhaden fishing in the Chesapeake Bay. On July 6, Dr.Watts responded.

REEDVILLE, VA / June 26, 2026

"We are extremely pleased that Gov. Abigail Spanberger has announced her intention to send budget language to the General Assembly that includes a study of menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay. We look forward to continuing to work with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) in collaboration with the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) to develop a scientific study of the Bay's Atlantic menhaden population.

EEDVILLE, VA / June 23, 2026

Ocean Harvesters and Omega Protein flatly deny playing any role in the Virginia General Assembly's decision not to include funding to study the Chesapeake Bay's Atlantic menhaden population in the two-year state budget. These false claims were made by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, an organization that has misled Virginians as part of a special interest campaign against the industry for more than two decades.

REEDVILLE, VA / June 11, 2026

A new paper by Dr. Bryan Watts and coauthors reports poor osprey reproduction in high-salinity areas of the Chesapeake Bay and suggests reduced availability of Atlantic menhaden may be a primary driver. While osprey nesting success deserves serious attention, the paper does not prove that Virginia's commercial menhaden fishery caused the problem. The paper, "Widespread Reproductive Deficits in Chesapeake Bay Ospreys," was published in Frontiers in Marine Science this week.

WASHINGTON, D.C. / May 26, 2026

In a May 6 post by Jaclyn Lunaas, ("Fisheries Board Defers Advancing Plan to Address Chesapeake Bay Menhaden Management"), the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) calls the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Menhaden Board's decision to form a work group on Draft Addendum II "another delay for Chesapeake Bay menhaden conservation," then argues that cutting Chesapeake Bay menhaden harvest (and spreading it across the season) is needed to improve outcomes for predators like striped bass.

WASHINGTON, DC / May 13, 2026

A May 5 statement by David Sherfinski of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) misleadingly portrays the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) as ignoring "dire warning signs" in the Chesapeake Bay by delaying action on Draft Addendum II for menhaden. But the Commission's decision is basic due diligence: the draft addendum is technically complex, and the Board acted responsibly by choosing to refine the proposal before launching public comment.

WASHINGTON, DC / May 5, 2026 / Just over a month ago, Will Poston of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation once again published false and misleading claims about Virginia's menhaden fishery. Just as CBF did in a March email falsely connecting natural fish die-offs to the menhaden fishery, Poston presents advocacy as science, speculation as fact, and political talking points as settled biology.

WASHINGTON, D.C. / May 5, 2026

A recent video series from the Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership continues the organization's near decade-long practice of spreading misinformation about the Atlantic menhaden fishery. From substituting anecdotes for real science to misidentifying the companies involved in the fishery to mischaracterizing the state of the stock, the videos paint a misleading picture of a sustainable and economically vital fishery.

WASHINGTON, D.C. / May 5, 2026

An MFC analysis of two board meetings held as part of the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission last Fall finds that the Commission treated socio-economic impacts as central to striped bass management decisions, while giving less practical weight to comparable concerns raised by the menhaden reduction industry, including vessel crews, plant workers, union families, and local communities dependent on the fishery.

WASHINGTON, DC / May 4, 2026

A proposed Atlantic menhaden management addendum aimed at Virginia's Chesapeake purse seine fishery is being driven by a simple claim: that a shift in the timing of the reduction fishery has reduced menhaden availability farther north, contributing to lower Maryland pound net harvests.

WASHINGTON, DC / May 4, 2026

The Atlantic menhaden fishery has been recertified as sustainable according to Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standards. The recertification once again confirms that the fishery is environmentally sustainable and effectively managed.

NEW ORLEANS, LA / March 30, 2026

The following was released by Ocean Harvesters and Westbank Fishing:

The Gulf menhaden fishery has earned recertification from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), reaffirming its strong environmental performance and science-based management after rigorous, multi-year independent audit. The MSC is the world's leading certification body for sustainable fisheries, and the 2026 recertification provides third-party verification that the fishery continues to meet the highest standards for sustainability, ecosystem health, and effective management.

WASHINGTON, DC / March 12, 2026

The Sierra magazine March 8 article "Will Osprey Chick Deaths Inspire Conservation Action on Menhaden?" by Amy Brecount White is not a work of balanced journalism, but an advocacy piece masquerading as reporting.

WASHINGTON, D.C. / March 6, 2026

The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition strongly criticizes the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Will Poston for exploiting the recent fish wash-up from Cape Henry, Virginia to Nags Head, North Carolina to promote yet another misleading attack on Virginia's menhaden fishery.

REEDVILLE, VA / January 29, 2026

In a letter to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC) Atlantic Menhaden Management Board released this week, Ocean Harvesters explained that the ASMFC should examine the premise of a proposed addendum to the Atlantic Menhaden Fishery Management Plan. The addendum is based on the premise that a recent decline in Maryland menhaden pound net catches can be attributed to Ocean Harvesters' purse seine fishery in the lower Chesapeake Bay, creating a "gauntlet" that has prevented fish from reaching pound nets in the mid and upper Bay. Ocean Harvesters maintains that neither the Board nor its Plan Development Team (PDT) have thoroughly examined this premise, and that available data suggests that other factors may be the cause.