VSSA
Menhaden
The Biggest Little Fish You’ve Never Seen
The public hardly knows anything about these fish since they are never seen on menus; however, they are crucial to the Chesapeake Bay and our Atlantic Coast. Like other small but critically important forage fish, menhaden play a central role in the Chesapeake Bay’s food web. In these areas, they are a keystone species because a staggering number of predators, such as striped bass, ospreys, eagles, marine mammals etc. rely on menhaden for their sustenance. This is why Virginia’s sportsmen and sportswomen are calling for Virginia’s elected officials and our Marine Resource Commissioners to change their approach to how fish like menhaden are managed in our Chesapeake Bay waters.
The main conflict in the film is between Omega Protein (owned by Cooke Seafood), and the local community of recreational fishermen and conservationists. Against this juggernaut are the local fishermen, tourist operators, charter boat captains and many others that live and work along the Bay and the Gulf. These local commercial and recreational fishermen struggle as the loss of menhaden hurts the number of game fish available to sustain the local population and the marine environment. In addition, conservation groups such as Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) and the Virginia Saltwater Sportfishing Association (VSSA) have been fighting to remove Omega from the Bay.
However, Omega Protein is fighting back by making political donations to government officials to prevent any changes. In the middle of this conflict is the state regulatory body, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC). They establish the rules for all menhaden fishing.
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