I urge the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to begin a regulatory process to determine the appropriate depth of purse seines in the waters of the Chesapeake Bay and areas where this gear is not appropriate due to depth and/or other important resources. Recent net spills have highlighted the need to have regulations that better protect Virginias marine resources. The size and scale of the menhaden reduction fleet continues to raise significant questions about its effects on the menhaden population in Chesapeake Bay. Setting such regulations could help simply ensure that other Bay resources not targeted by this fishery will not be negatively affected by this resource.
Having spent decades sport fishing on the bay and its estuaries, I have personally witnessed the decline in the sport fishery. Few, if any Bluefish, small, undersized Striped Bass, Flounder that are undersized and a decline in the number of young of the year Ospreys. This is directly related to the overfished, underregulated Menhaden fishery in Reedville. I urge you to finally take steps to rein in this decimation of the bay fishes, and allow the fishery to recover to its previous glory.