1.Grant this petition by adopting a temporary moratorium on purse-seine reduction fishing for menhaden within the Chesapeake Bay and initiating rulemaking to amend 4VAC 20-1270-35.

2.Maintain the moratorium until VMRC has affirmatively demonstrated, on the administrative record, compliance with all applicable statutory and public trust obligations, including that it has:

a. Determined Bay-specific menhaden abundance and Bay-specific ecological dependence, including the needs of predator species, juvenile life stages, and dependent fisheries within the Chesapeake Bay, consistent with Va. Code §§ 28.2-204.1 and 28.2-203(2);

b. Demonstrated, on the administrative record, compliance with the mandatory requirements of Va. Code § 28.2-204.1 by evaluating—before authorizing industrial menhaden removal—the impacts on species and fisheries, age structure, and the abundance of the resource;

c. Demonstrated compliance with all fishery management standards set forth in Va. Code § 28.2-203, including:

i. Prevention of overfishing while achieving optimum yield (§ 28.2-203(1));

ii. Reliance on the best scientific, economic, biological, and sociological information available (§ 28.2-203(2));

iii. Management of individual and interrelated stocks as a unit, including forage-dependent predator species (§ 28.2-203(3));

iv. Fair, equitable, and non-discriminatory management measures that do not grant excessive fishing privileges (§ 28.2-203(4));

v. Promotion of efficient utilization of fishery resources without economic allocation as the sole purpose (§ 28.2-203(5));

vi. Consideration of variations among, and contingencies in, fisheries, fishery resources, and catches (§ 28.2-203(6)); and

vii. Minimization of unnecessary regulatory burdens while still achieving conservation objectives (§ 28.2-203(7));

d. Demonstrated compliance with Va. Code § 28.2-204 by obtaining or commissioning necessary fisheries data and implementing independent monitoring, verification, and enforcement mechanisms sufficient to ensure compliance with any future authorization of industrial menhaden removals, including verification of landings, bycatch, juvenile impacts, and cumulative removals across fisheries; and

e. Demonstrated satisfaction of interstate conservation responsibilities, including documented evaluation of cross-jurisdictional ecological and economic impacts within the Chesapeake Bay, consistent with Virginia’s obligations under the

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Compact (Va. Code § 28.2-1000 through 28.2-1000.2).

The petitioner does not request a specific numerical quota and requests that no industrial reduction fishing resume until these conditions are satisfied.

Review the full petition here:  https://mrc.virginia.gov/Notices/2026/Menhaden-Moratorium-Petition.pdf

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission is submitting notice of the petition for publication in the Virginia Register of Regulations and announcing a public comment period. Following receipt of comments on the petition, the Commission will review the petition, and hear the petition in a public forum on April 21, 2026.  Updates on the meeting will be posted on the www.mrc.virginia.gov website under Agency Meetings.  

April 28, 2026

A petition for rulemaking was submitted requesting that the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) take the following actions:

1. Adopt a temporary moratorium on purse-seine reduction fishing for menhaden within the Chesapeake Bay and initiating rulemaking to amend 4VAC 20-1270-35.

2.Maintain the moratorium until VMRC has affirmatively demonstrated, on the administrative record, compliance with all applicable statutory and public trust obligations, including that it has:

a. Determined Bay-specific menhaden abundance and Bay-specific ecological dependence, including the needs of predator species, juvenile life stages, and dependent fisheries within the Chesapeake Bay, consistent with Va. Code §§ 28.2-204.1 and 28.2-203(2);

b. Demonstrated, on the administrative record, compliance with the mandatory requirements of Va. Code § 28.2-204.1 by evaluating—before authorizing industrial menhaden removal—the impacts on species and fisheries, age structure, and the abundance of the resource;

c. Demonstrated compliance with all fishery management standards set forth in Va. Code § 28.2-203, including:

i. Prevention of overfishing while achieving optimum yield (§ 28.2-203(1));

ii. Reliance on the best scientific, economic, biological, and sociological information available (§ 28.2-203(2));

iii. Management of individual and interrelated stocks as a unit, including forage-dependent predator species (§ 28.2-203(3));

iv. Fair, equitable, and non-discriminatory management measures that do not grant excessive fishing privileges (§ 28.2-203(4));

v. Promotion of efficient utilization of fishery resources without economic allocation as the sole purpose (§ 28.2-203(5));

vi. Consideration of variations among, and contingencies in, fisheries, fishery resources, and catches (§ 28.2-203(6)); and

vii. Minimization of unnecessary regulatory burdens while still achieving conservation objectives (§ 28.2-203(7));

d. Demonstrated compliance with Va. Code § 28.2-204 by obtaining or commissioning necessary fisheries data and implementing independent monitoring, verification, and enforcement mechanisms sufficient to ensure compliance with any future authorization of industrial menhaden removals, including verification of landings, bycatch, juvenile impacts, and cumulative removals across fisheries; and

e. Demonstrated satisfaction of interstate conservation responsibilities, including documented evaluation of cross-jurisdictional ecological and economic impacts within the Chesapeake Bay, consistent with Virginia’s obligations under the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Compact (Va. Code § 28.2-1000 through 28.2-1000.2).

The petitioner does not request a specific numerical quota and requests that no industrial reduction fishing resume until these conditions are satisfied.

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission published notice of the petition in the Virginia Register of Regulations on December 31, 2025 (Volume 42, Issue 12), following submission on December 30, 2025.

A public comment period was held from January 26 to February 17, 2026. During that time, the Commission received a total of 1,266 comments: all through Virginia’s Town Hall website. Of the total comments received, 260 were in support and 896 were in opposition.

The Commission reviewed the petition at its April 21, 2026 meeting. Twenty-four individuals provided public comment during the meeting, twelve in favor of supporting the petition and twelve in favor of denying the petition. Following public comment, and thorough discussion between associate commissioners, the Commission ultimately voted 6-2 to deny the petition in its entirety.