I have watched the decline of menhaden the Bay over the past five or six years. I strongly support regulations that limit the  commercial taking of menhaden from the Bay; I also support serious  penalties for those commercial enterprises that violate  regulations that seek to limit the unrestrained harvesting of menhaden.

The absence of serious regulations, with serious penalties for violations of those regulations, that protect menhaden, I believe has lead to another serious decline in the striped bass population in the Bay. Surely, we may remember the decline in striped bass population due to over fishing in the 1970's that  required  very strict limitations on the taking of striped bass. Now, again we are faced with a decline in the striped bass population, but this time that decline is caused by the over fishing of the food that supports the striped bass in the Bay. If we do not have a healthy balance of menhaden in the Bay, we will diminish Virginia's ability to attract fishermen to the Bay and that will lead to diminished tourism dollars flowing into Virginia's treasury.

I strongly support efforts to achieve a balanced approach to the harvesting of menhaden and striped bass. We must balance the economic interests of a few with the over arching need to preserve a healthy fishery in Virginia.

Yours, Tom Wilkins