As advocates push for Chesapeake Bay-specific data, menhaden quota bill advances

By: Shannon Heckt

Outlets: Virginia Mercury

Published: February 13, 2026

Words: 410

Last Updated: 2 weeks, 6 days ago

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The debate over the oily forage fish menhaden is not over in the General Assembly, as one bill advanced Thursday that would create catch quota periods for the only reduction fishery allowed in the Chesapeake Bay.

House Bill 1049 would create periods of time where the reduction fishery Ocean Harvesters, which contracts with Omega Protein, will be subject to additional caps on how much of the fish they can remove from the Bay. The …

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