Sea Gristle
06-30-2006, 08:14 AM
Group asks Kaine for menhaden cap
BY LAWRENCE LATANE III TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Jun 30, 2006
An environmental group urged Gov. Timothy M. Kaine yesterday to meet a deadline tomorrow to cap the industrial harvest of menhaden fish in the Chesapeake Bay.
Failure to heed the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's order would invite economic and environmental hardships that would harm the bay and the fishing industry, according to the group, Menhaden Matter.
"I believe the easy solution for [Kaine] is to simply issue a proclamation implementing the ASMFC cap," said John Bello, Virginia chairman of Coastal Conservation Association of Virginia, a Menhaden Matter member.
But the governor's spokesman, Kevin Hall, said state law leaves Kaine powerless to act while the General Assembly, which has authority over menhaden fishing, is in session.
The legislature ended a 169-day standoff Wednesday over a 2006-2008 budget plan but remains in session to determine how the state will pay for needed transportation projects.
"I would hope the [commission] is aware of the legal limits on the governor's ability to act," Hall said. Kaine "has made it clear all along that he is not opposed to some kind of cap, though what that cap might look like is still up in the air."
The commission's menhaden management board meets Aug. 16.
"I would guess there would be a strong inclination on the part of the board to vote Virginia out of compliance if no action on a cap has been taken," said Kirby A. Carpenter of Maryland, chairman of the menhaden management board. That could lead to the U.S. secretary of commerce closing Virginia waters to all menhaden fishing.
The board, composed of state fishing regulators from Atlantic states including Virginia, voted in August to require Virginia to cap the industrial harvest at almost 106,000 metric tons a year.
The number equals Omega Protein Co.'s average annual bay harvest from 2000 through 2004.
Omega, which operates in Reedville with a fleet of 11 oceangoing ships, maintains the cap is unwarranted. It points to commission reports that show menhaden are not being overfished coastwide.
Ken Hinman, president of the National Coalition for Marine Conservation, counters that no one knows the menhaden's status in the bay where Omega concentrates its fishing. He noted malnutrition and disease in striped bass, which prey heavily upon menhaden, suggests menhaden in the bay may be declining.
Omega harvests menhaden for meal and oil. The fish also supports a number of independent watermen who sell menhaden for crab bait. The menhaden's role in cleaning impurities from the water as a filter feeder has also brought it to the attention of environmentalists.
"What that cap will look like is up in the air"? The cap is the cap.
Yo , somebody give the Gov a calendar, tomorrow is July 1.
BY LAWRENCE LATANE III TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Jun 30, 2006
An environmental group urged Gov. Timothy M. Kaine yesterday to meet a deadline tomorrow to cap the industrial harvest of menhaden fish in the Chesapeake Bay.
Failure to heed the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's order would invite economic and environmental hardships that would harm the bay and the fishing industry, according to the group, Menhaden Matter.
"I believe the easy solution for [Kaine] is to simply issue a proclamation implementing the ASMFC cap," said John Bello, Virginia chairman of Coastal Conservation Association of Virginia, a Menhaden Matter member.
But the governor's spokesman, Kevin Hall, said state law leaves Kaine powerless to act while the General Assembly, which has authority over menhaden fishing, is in session.
The legislature ended a 169-day standoff Wednesday over a 2006-2008 budget plan but remains in session to determine how the state will pay for needed transportation projects.
"I would hope the [commission] is aware of the legal limits on the governor's ability to act," Hall said. Kaine "has made it clear all along that he is not opposed to some kind of cap, though what that cap might look like is still up in the air."
The commission's menhaden management board meets Aug. 16.
"I would guess there would be a strong inclination on the part of the board to vote Virginia out of compliance if no action on a cap has been taken," said Kirby A. Carpenter of Maryland, chairman of the menhaden management board. That could lead to the U.S. secretary of commerce closing Virginia waters to all menhaden fishing.
The board, composed of state fishing regulators from Atlantic states including Virginia, voted in August to require Virginia to cap the industrial harvest at almost 106,000 metric tons a year.
The number equals Omega Protein Co.'s average annual bay harvest from 2000 through 2004.
Omega, which operates in Reedville with a fleet of 11 oceangoing ships, maintains the cap is unwarranted. It points to commission reports that show menhaden are not being overfished coastwide.
Ken Hinman, president of the National Coalition for Marine Conservation, counters that no one knows the menhaden's status in the bay where Omega concentrates its fishing. He noted malnutrition and disease in striped bass, which prey heavily upon menhaden, suggests menhaden in the bay may be declining.
Omega harvests menhaden for meal and oil. The fish also supports a number of independent watermen who sell menhaden for crab bait. The menhaden's role in cleaning impurities from the water as a filter feeder has also brought it to the attention of environmentalists.
"What that cap will look like is up in the air"? The cap is the cap.
Yo , somebody give the Gov a calendar, tomorrow is July 1.