The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality needs to amend regulations to recognize the wastewater discharge from industrial menhaden fishing vessels as a pollutant. The real problem is the way large volumes of highly concentrated/toxic nutrients and low-oxygen water are expelled into a very localized, shallow area, such that marine life in the vicinity can be harmed or killed before any chance of the pollutant discharge dissipating. This form of pollution needs to be regulated like every other point-source of pollution in the state, to safeguard the Chesapeake Bay, its water quality, and its fish and wildlife, not to mention to also protect the various fisheries and recreational activities that generate enormous economic outputs.