New Threat may drive Menhaden to Extinction! Board Members need to ACT!

[sanddollar]

An alert for all who value the Chesapeake - Two bills pre-filed for introduction in the 2012 Virginia General Assembly pose a grave threat to efforts to promote Bay conservation.

HB 88 Menhaden harvest; removes cap.
Introduced by: Barry D. Knight
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Menhaden harvest cap. Removes the provision that allows an adjustment for underages or overages in the annual harvest cap to be carried over to the next year's cap limit. Currently, if a person harvests less than the 109,020 metric ton limit on taking menhaden, he can add the difference to his cap for next year's harvest. Conversely, if he exceeds the cap in any one year, he must reduce his harvest in the succeeding year by the amount of the overage of the preceding year.
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp...1+ful+HB88+pdf
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SB 18 Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Compact; removes authorization for State's membership.
Introduced by: Richard H. Stuart

SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Fishery compact. Removes authorization for Virginia's membership in the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Compact. The purpose of the Compact is to promote better utilization of the marine, shell, and anadromous fisheries of the Atlantic seaboard through the development of a joint program for the promotion and protection of such fisheries and by the prevention of the physical waste of the fisheries from any cause. If any state desires to remove itself from the Compact, it must send a six months' notice in writing to the member states of its intention to withdraw from the Compact.
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp...1+ful+SB18+pdf

These bills are Omega protein's response to the Atlantic Fisheries Commissions steps to preserve Menhadden.

To stop these bills, Virginia legislatures need to hear from you now - early and often!
Go to http://legis.state.va.us/
to find the name of your Delegate and Senator.

[Marcus]

An alert for all who value the Chesapeake - Two bills pre-filed for introduction in the 2012 Virginia General Assembly pose a grave threat to efforts to promote Bay conservation.

HB 88 Menhaden harvest; removes cap.
Introduced by: Barry D. Knight
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Menhaden harvest cap. Removes the provision that allows an adjustment for underages or overages in the annual harvest cap to be carried over to the next year's cap limit. Currently, if a person harvests less than the 109,020 metric ton limit on taking menhaden, he can add the difference to his cap for next year's harvest. Conversely, if he exceeds the cap in any one year, he must reduce his harvest in the succeeding year by the amount of the overage of the preceding year.
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp...1+ful+HB88+pdf
------------------------

SB 18 Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Compact; removes authorization for State's membership.
Introduced by: Richard H. Stuart

SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Fishery compact. Removes authorization for Virginia's membership in the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Compact. The purpose of the Compact is to promote better utilization of the marine, shell, and anadromous fisheries of the Atlantic seaboard through the development of a joint program for the promotion and protection of such fisheries and by the prevention of the physical waste of the fisheries from any cause. If any state desires to remove itself from the Compact, it must send a six months' notice in writing to the member states of its intention to withdraw from the Compact.
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp...1+ful+SB18+pdf

These bills are Omega protein's response to the Atlantic Fisheries Commissions steps to preserve Menhadden.

To stop these bills, Virginia legislatures need to hear from you now - early and often!
Go to http://legis.state.va.us/
to find the name of your Delegate and Senator.

What does the current law there state? Is there a hard number listed? If so and the number is the same, I would like to see the number much lower but, the first one seems ok. Since they could no longer carry over any fish which if the fishery is allowed to rebound could allow for major decimation in just one or two years.
The second one is bad for VA but the way I see it since the fish are migratory this fits nicely under Article 1 section 8 clause 3 and would allow Congress to step in and hit VA with major penalties!

[Tom Powers]

The first one is actually has the potential to reduce the menhaden harvest.

What the bill does is remove the wording that allows the following.

The cap is 109,000 MT. If the bay harvest is less than 109,000 MT then any underage is added to the next year's cap with the cap to never exceed 123,000 MT.

With the new wording the cap is 109,000 MT and an underage on one year does not change that cap for the next year.

Both the old and new wording say that any overages would reduce the cap the next year, which is a standard commercial (and soon to be recreational) rule.

All that being said the Bay harvest for reduction has never exceeded 95,000 MT since the cap was put into place.

Tom

[DonQx]

I don't see how the bill from Del. Knight (VA Bch/Chesapeake) can be interpreted even as "pro-Omega", much less leading to menhaden "extinction". Further, I can find no evidence that Del. Knight took even a nickel from Omega.

[SaltyJB]

Since the reduction harvest in the Virginia portion of the Bay by Omega Protein has generally been around 85,000 metric tons (well below the cap of 109,020 mT), Delegate Knight's bill seems irrelevant.

Senator Stuart's bill (SB 18) seems misguided, since the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act of 1993 requires each Atlantic state to abide by the management guidance of the ASMFC, whether the state is a member or not (per ASMFC). What would be the point of Virginia losing its seat (vote) at the ASMFC, and still be under the jurisdiction of the ASMFC for 22 species of fish? If Senator Stuart is your senator, a call might be in order. (804) 698-7528 at the General Assembly Building

[TomGlenBurnie]

Those who care about the fishery must

know that menhaden are vital to

the health of the various bays.

Please read Abrimoff's new book.

That tells you how cheaply representatives are bought...

Do you think for a second that these bills were

sponsored by the people?

Menhaden, The people don't think about Menhaden.

If you ask 1000 people at the mall what is menhaden ?

The answers would be mostly blank and mostly wrong...

There is big money behind these bills...

Anyone who is proposing that

the commercial netters should be allowed to

decimate the menhaden is our enemy.

we need to energize the public to write letters.

we need to publicize this atrocity.

we cannot wait until the

last fish have been turned into dog food.

best regards,

tomgranger@comcast.net

[john b bryant]

After drinking two beers just realized Senator Stuart maybe an idiot.